


The Camp Shinobi Disaster

by Angel_of_the_Axis



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Summer Camp, Attempted Kidnapping, BAMF Hyuuga Hinata, Broken Bones, Dreams and Nightmares, Drugging, Enemies to Friends, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Everyone Is Alive, Everyone Needs A Hug, F/M, Guest appearance from Mikoto and Fugaku, Hinata will kick your ass three ways to Sunday if you insult Naruto, Hyuuga Hinata Needs a Hug, I just keep torturing my fictional characters lmao, I'm not tagging graphic violence but there is a fight scene at the end, Implied Relationships, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Imported, Jealousy, Karin is Nice, Kidnapping, Meddling Kids, Mentioned Traumatic Event, Mild Blood, Neji is Concerned™, Off-screen Vomiting, Orochimaru is mentioned, Poisoning, Precious Rock Lee, Sharing a Bed, Stabbing, Stalking, Summer Camp Gone Wrong, Tenten and Neji don't get along, Tsunade gets her ass kicked, Tsundere Tenten, Uchiha Sasuke & Uzumaki Naruto Friendship, Underage Kissing, Underage Relationship(s), Unrequited Crush, Uzumaki Naruto is a Good Friend, What's better than this? Kids being kids, i love her tho, implied/referenced PTSD, nobody important dies, strangers to enemies to friends to lovers, talk no jutsu
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-03
Updated: 2020-02-14
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:21:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 45
Words: 65,310
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21742888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Angel_of_the_Axis/pseuds/Angel_of_the_Axis
Summary: Poor Sakura Haruno thought that there could be nothing worse than getting shipped off to some weird mixed-gender ninja summer camp program for two weeks, especially when hardly any friends were going. Add the fact that she was put in a cabin with both the hyperactive blond kid whose father used to be mayor of Konoha and some rich guy whose only outward talent seemed to be amassing hordes of fangirls everywhere he went, and a lazy cabin counselor whose favorite hobby happened to be reading porn novels. Great.But just when she begins to breathe a little easier, things get weird around camp. Staff and campers alike are going missing, kids are freaking out, and rumors spread quickly about a creeper stalking the camp. When Sakura's friends Hinata and Ino go missing, it spurs Cabin 7 into action -- but will they be too late to save them?
Relationships: Haruno Sakura & Hyuuga Hinata & Hyuuga Neji, Haruno Sakura & Karin, Haruno Sakura & Uchiha Sasuke & Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura & Yamanaka Ino, Haruno Sakura/Uchiha Sasuke, Hatake Kakashi & Nohara Rin & Uchiha Obito, Hyuuga Hinata/Uzumaki Naruto, Hyuuga Neji/Tenten, Juugo & Karin (Naruto), Sai & Yamanaka Ino
Comments: 17
Kudos: 83





	1. Shipped Off

The sun was barely streaming through the trees when twelve-year-old Haruno Sakura's eyes opened. She sat up in her bed, yawned, and stretched.

 _"Today's the day,"_ she thought to herself as she glanced at the calendar above her desk. A date was circled in red pen. _"Today, I go to a weird ninja summer camp for two weeks."_

Her parents had decided, as soon as seventh grade had ended, that she would spend two weeks in June at Camp Shinobi in the center of Lake Adohira. The camp itself was supposed to be massive, and on a large island that boasted as rich of an experience as you'd have to be to afford it. Thankfully, Sakura's godmother was the owner, and she had agreed to let the preteen attend at half the price.

 _"It was a pretty sweet deal,"_ Sakura mused as she slipped out of bed. _"Too bad I don't wanna go."_

A gentle knock came at her door, and her mother, a pretty blonde woman with near-identical shamrock eyes, appeared, all smiles.

"Sakura, you only have an hour until you need to leave for the shuttle," she reminded with a kiss on the forehead.

Sakura wiped the kiss away and frowned. "I know."

Her mother sighed heavily. "Saku-chan, I know you wanna stay here, but we have no other choice! Ino's parents will be out of town until June 20, and I can't let you stay home by yourself."

"But why not?" She persisted. "You've let me stay alone before."

"I have no idea how long we'll be gone for, sweetheart." The blonde ruffled her daughter's unruly hair. "Besides, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for your father."

With another kiss, she left the room, and Sakura was left muttering, "Yeah, because who wouldn't want to work for stupid Uchiha Corp."

* * *

Only an hour later, Sakura had showered and brushed her teeth, gotten dressed, and grabbed her packed suitcase. Now, she stood at the bus stop with her mother.

"Ooh, this is going to be so much fun for you!" Said woman giggled, clutching Sakura's hand tighter. "I remember Camp Shinobi is where I met your father."

"Um, gross," the girl winced. "I don't wanna talk about your love life right now."

"Oh, I know," jade met jade as she playfully glared at her daughter. "But you and Ino made up, didn't you?"

"Of course," Sakura snorted. "Considering love lives, legit or not, are what got us into that mess in the first place, we've mutually agreed not to talk about boys for a while."

Her mother hummed in thought. "That's smart. Don't go getting into another fight, now."

The pinkette stayed quiet as the bus slowly pulled up to the curb.

"Where _is_ Ino, by the way?" Mrs. Haruno asked.

"She said her parents would be dropping her off at camp." Sakura shrugged. "So goes the life of the wealthy."

When the doors opened, Sakura's mother hugged her tightly.

"Goodbye, Saku-chan," she whispered. "Have fun. Daddy might not be here to pick you up, so you'll have to come home with Senju-chan."

She nodded, letting go to help the attendant put her bag underneath in storage.

She climbed the stairs of the bus, glancing back at her mother. She waved one final time before the doors shut.

Sakura heaved a sigh, taking an empty seat near the front. She fished out her MP3 player, put in her earbuds, and began blasting her favorite song as the bus sped away.


	2. Cabin Assignments

A couple of hours later, the bus pulled up to a lake. The driver allowed room for the passengers to disembark, then allowed everyone to get off and grab their stuff.

Sakura accidentally bumped into a blond boy with spiked hair. "Oh, sorry."

"Nah, it's fine." He grinned. "My name's Naruto! Naruto Uzumaki!"

"I'm Sakura Haruno." She shook his hand and grabbed the handle of her red and white suitcase.

"That's a really pretty name!" He seemed to never stop smiling at her. "Say, you look familiar. What school do you go to?"

"Konoha Middle, where else?" She rose an eyebrow.

"Oh yeah! I forgot." He sheepishly laughed. "You're gonna be an eighth grader, right?"

"Yes." She nodded.

"Cool, I think you're a grade ahead of me." He cheered and crossed his arms behind his head. "I hope we can hang out when school starts."

"Sure." She shrugged, smiling awkwardly.

"Sakura!" Ino shouted for her and dashed towards the two.

"Ino, you made it!" She hugged her best friend. "Oh! Ino, this is-"

"Naruto. Yeah, we've met before." She grinned at him. "You were in the horticulture club, yeah?"

"Yep!" He shot her a thumbs-up.

"Cool." Sakura was mildly amused at their interaction. "Is Tenten coming?"

"I was behind you on the bus, you jerk!" Said girl pouted as she climbed down the steps.

"Sorry." Sakura gave her a hug.

"Alright, kids, let's start loading up the boat!" Another guy, the boat driver, shouted into a megaphone. "Let's hustle!"

Sakura held Ino's hand and watched as several of the more affluent kids passed them.

"I hope we get to be in the same cabin together," Tenten giggled.

"Yeah, me too." Ino beamed. "Eee, I'm so excited, you guys! This is going to easily be the best experience of the summer!"

"Yeah! This is gonna be fun!" Naruto joined their excitement.

Sakura sighed. "Sure, let's make it fun."

Naruto patted her on the back. "Cheer up, Sakura-chan!"

* * *

The boat ride was short and windy, and at the end of it Sakura was untying her hair. "Thanks for the hair tie."

"Welcome!" Ino took it and put it back around her wrist. "What are gal pals for?"

"So how do we figure out what cabin we're in?" Naruto asked, scratching his head.

"I dunno." Tenten glances over at a tall, silver-haired man reading a book. "Maybe we could ask him?"

"Ah, Sakura!" She suddenly heard the voice of her godmother and she whirled around with a big smile.

"Aunt Tsunade!" She ran to give her a hug.

"Tsunade-baa-chan is your _aunt_?" Naruto yelled.

"Watch it, Naruto," said woman growled while patting Sakura's head. "Yeah, kind of."

"Aunt Tsunade isn't really my _aunt_ , but she is my _godmother_." She explained.

"No way!" Naruto's mouth dropped open. "Tsunade-baa is _my_ godmother!"

"Sorry Luke, your princess is on another Death Star." Tenten mumbled, shaking her head.

"What does that mean?" The blond's eyebrow rose.

"Never mind; best if you don't think about it." Ino quickly intervened. "So how do we know what cabins we're in, Tsunade-sama?"

"We're gonna gather everyone up here in a minute," Tsunade huffed, glaring at the silver-haired man. "That is, if Hatake doesn't hurry himself-"

"Alright, little genins, gather round!" Almost as if he knew he was being spoken of, the man called out and strolled into a large, grassy area.

Everyone crowded around him, and Tsunade squeezed Sakura's shoulder and whispered that she'd talk later.

When she made her way to the center, she held a piece of paper and shouted, "Okay, listen up! I'm about to assign you to your cabins!"

She cleared her throat. "With Deda-sensei in cabin 1, Ami W, Koharu A, and Sai!"

"With Hakone-sensei in cabin 2, Riku S, Ichika Y, and Reo W!"

"With Fukami-sensei in cabin 3, Asahi A, Kasumi J, and Haru N!"

"With Kaoru-sensei in cabin 4, Kaito G, Fuka F, and Hinata S!"

"With Shizuo-sensei in cabin 5, Haruto N, Himari W, and Aoi T!"

"With Bora-sensei in cabin 6, Tsuichi D, Sara S, and Tohma G!"

"With Kakashi-sensei in cabin 7, Naruto U, Sakura H, and Sasuke U!"

Immediately, girls in the crowd began to groan.

Sakura rolled her eyes when she saw him turn away.

" _Quiet_!" Tsunade's stern voice immediately shut them up. "Right! With Kurenai-sensei in cabin 8, Kiba I, Hinata H, and Shino A!"

"With Gai-sensei in cabin 9, Neji H, Tenten A, and Rock Lee!"

"With Asuma-sensei in cabin 10, Shikamaru N, Ino Y, and Chouji A!"

"With Akako-sensei in cabin..."

* * *

After everyone had been split up into three-man teams, Sakura met with Naruto next to their cabin.

"Is this even legal?" She wondered, staring at the polished '7' above the door.

"I have no idea." The blond shrugged, hoisting his duffel bag over one shoulder. "Man, we got stuck with Sasuke-teme!"

"Why? Is he mean?" She asked. She had only heard of him from other girls, and she rarely caught glimpses of him during class.

"He's a total jerk!" Naruto agreed with a frown. "But if anything happens, I'll beat him up for you, Sakura-chan."

"I... don't think that will be strictly necessary," she laughed nervously as she patted him on the shoulder. "But thank you all the same."

Kakashi walked up to them, Sasuke in tow.

"Yo," he greeted lazily, pocketing the orange book he was reading. "As you know, I'll be your cabin counselor for the two weeks you'll be here. Let's go inside, you can unpack your sleeping stuff, and we can go over the rules."

Sakura mentally sighed.

The tall man unlocked the cabin and held the door. "Why don't you go first, Sakura."

She frowned, but hesitantly walked inside the dark cabin.

It was quite nice for a summer camp cabin, she noted as she flipped on the lightswitch. It looked to be separated in three parts; a main area and sleeping rooms, one for boys, and one for girls.

"Since you're our only female teammate, you get to pick which side you want to sleep in." Kakashi's visible eye crinkled in a smile.

She nodded and looked around, observing.

 _"Hmm... well, the right side could be beneficial because there is less furniture over there, in case I have to evacuate in an emergency."_ She mused to herself, narrowing her eyes. _"But then again, the left side could prove useful if someone tried to break in, because they'd have to get through the furniture to get to me-"_

"Oi, hurry up." The cold voice of who she assumed to be Sasuke droned from behind her.

She turned around and gave him a nasty glare. " _Fine_. I choose the _left_."

When she huffed, marching inside, she failed to notice the mean look Naruto gave him.

"Now now, Naruto, Sasuke," Kakashi admonished, towering over them in an intimidation tactic. "Play nice. We haven't even gotten to the classes yet."

Sasuke merely scoffed and walked inside, followed by an angrily muttering Naruto.


	3. Sasuke (Feat. the Fans)

_Great. Just my luck._

Sakura angrily wrote in her journal as she sat up in a patient's bed, the dull white sheets wrinkling under her fisted hand.

Not only was her 'teammate' Sasuke a jerk, but he was a _snide_ jerk!

He'd done nothing but make her first day miserable, and somehow she sensed that this was only the beginning.

* * *

_\- Several hours earlier -_

* * *

"Okay, my cute genin. As our first meeting as a team, we will be doing icebreakers." Kakashi put the book away in his pocket and gazed at the preteens. "So? Anyone want to volunteer themselves?"

"How about you first, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked.

"Me?" He shrugged, tapping his finger against his chin in thought. "Well, I am Hatake Kakashi. Kakashi-sensei to you. I have no intentions of telling you my likes and dislikes. As for my dream... nope, can't tell you that either. I have few hobbies."

"Whaaaat? Lame!" Naruto cried.

"That's all you get out of me." Kakashi seemed amused as he turned to Sakura. "How about you, Sakura?"

"Well, er..." She suddenly felt a pang of nervousness shoot through her at all three males' attention on her at once. "My name is Haruno Sakura. I'm twelve, and I like gaining knowledge, going to the library, and going shopping with Ino. I dislike pompous _jerkwads_ -" cue a well-timed glare towards Sasuke- "and people who can't take me seriously. My dream is to become Konoha's greatest doctor, and my hobbies are reading, hanging out with friends, and studying."

"Good introduction." Kakashi hummed in thought. "Naruto?"

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto, I'm eleven, and I'm gonna become the next mayor of Konoha!" The blond exclaimed with a fist-pump. "I like playing pranks, Sakura-chan, and ramen! I dislike people like Sasuke-teme and people who give up. My hobbies include pranking, eating ramen, and training!"

"Very... spirited of you." A sweatdrop slowly trickled down their teacher's forehead. "And you, Sasuke?"

"Hmph. I'm Uchiha Sasuke, eleven, heir of Uchiha Corp. My likes are none of your business. I dislike annoying people, high expectations, and comparing people. My ultimate goal is to surpass my brother and become the best leader for our business that I can."

"Ooookay..." Kakashi sighed. "Diverse crowd. Can't quite say I love it."

 _"Uwaaa- I'm older than them?"_ Sakura screeched in her mind. _"How is that even possible?!"_

"So what're we gonna do now, sensei?" Naruto asked, a mischievous gleam in his eye.

"First, we break for lunch. Second, we meet back here in this exact spot for a team building exercise." Their teacher pulled out that orange book again and dismissed them.

Sasuke immediately stalked off, leaving his other two teammates together.

"So, liking it here, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked.

"I admit, it's not bad for some preteen ninja program," she observed. "Although I could definitely do without a prick for a teammate and about half the female population looking at me like they want to kill me and bury my body at the bottom of the lake."

Naruto laughed boisterously, slapping her on the back. "Aw c'mon, it can't be _that_ bad!"

She stuck out her thumb behind her with a deadpan expression. The blond peeked behind her shoulder to see at least five female campers glaring heatedly at her.

"Eheheheh... well, maybe it's _not_ that bad?" He offered with nervous laughter.

"No, it's as bad as you think." She shook her head.

"Well, the least we can do is go to lunch." He glanced quickly down at her hand and then at the ground, a light blush dusting his cheeks. "Could... could I sit with you?"

"Sure, why not?" She shrugged and gave him a bright smile. "C'mon, I know Ino's gonna chew my head off for being late."

* * *

"Forehead girl! Where the heck have you been?" Ino's enraged exclamation made her sigh as she sat down.

"I'm sorry, Ino, but I got caught up in an icebreaker lesson with Kakashi-sensei." She rolled her eyes.

"You mean the one who reads porn all the time?" Tenten winced.

"Yeah, and not just any porn. I always see him with Jiraiya-sensei's erotic I-can't-even-call-them-novels." The girls at the table shivered.

"Ehh? What's wrong with Jiraiya-sensei?" Naruto asked cluelessly.

"Baka!" Sakura slapped him upside the head with a frown. "Jiraiya-sensei is the most perverted teacher we know! We should at least be grateful that Namikaze-sama didn't put him in charge of Sex Ed."

"Yeah," Ino trailed off as she saw people entering the dining hall. "Hey, look, it's Sasuke-kun."

" _Sasuke-kun_?" Sakura snorted, resting her chin in her palm. "Geez, Ino, way to swoon over a man you don't even have to live with."

"Oho, I feel so bad for you!" Tenten giggled, taking another bite of her rice. "He's handsome, sure, but he's got an attitude that's bigger than Neji's ego!"

"Neji? Who's that?"

"Oh, Neji Hyuuga is the older cousin of Hinata." Ino pointed her out with her chopsticks. From where Sakura was, she could only see the back of her head. She was a tiny-looking girl with bobbed black hair that shone navy in the hall lights.

"She looks cute," the pinkette observed. "She's one of the rich kids, isn't she?"

"Yeah, _everyone_ loves Hinata-chan!" Naruto nodded vigorously. "Well, maybe not _everyone_ , per se, but she's still well-liked!"

"You sound familiar with her." Sakura turned to him with a cheesy grin. "Got a crush, perhaps?"

"What? No." Naruto frowned. "There's only one person I like here, but..."

"Hm." Tenten interrupted their discussion and groaned. "Speaking of Hyuugas..."

The table looked toward the doors, where a somewhat-taller boy with long brown hair held in a ponytail strode in. His face was set in a serious expression, his narrowed pearl-white eyes scanning the dining hall.

Sakura continued to eat her food, blissfully unaware of Ino's and Tenten's hushed discussion.

A couple of minutes later, when she'd drank the last of her - surprisingly amazing - tea, she stood from the table. "I'm gonna go take a shower," she announced to her friends.

Naruto gave her a grin. "See you later, Sakura-chan!"

Ino smiled and stood. "I think I'll go with you."

Tenten glanced between them warily.

Sakura rose an eyebrow, but accompanied the pretty blonde to the tray station.

One second, she was happily chatting with her about training, when suddenly she felt her foot snag against something and she was sent tumbling forward, her tray flying out of her hands.

Ino's eyes widened and she sat her tray down, catching Sakura in mid-air with her leg while grabbing the tray.

Sakura gasped, the wind knocked out of her as Ino's leg came into vision. Then everything went black.

* * *

The pinkette felt someone shaking her shoulders and slowly her eyes opened, before painfully shutting again as she tried to breathe.

"Ino," she rasped once she opened her eyes again, "what happened?"

"You blacked out for ten minutes after you tripped," she replied with a concerned frown. "Are you alright?"

"I feel like my lungs are collapsing, but other than that, I'm fine." She struggled to sit up before Ino pushed her back down.

"Stop, Saku. You need to rest." The blonde's determined blue eyes bore into her green ones. "Kakashi-sensei was notified, and he gave permission for you to take the rest of the afternoon off."

"But- but I _can't_!" She protested weakly. "This is the first day of camp! I can't just lay in bed while everyone else is out doing things!"

" _Sakura_."

Ino's voice shut her up and she instead sighed, looking out the window next to her bed.

"Fine, I guess you're right," she resigned herself to staring up at the ceiling.

"Good." Ino smiled again, patting her shoulder.

"By the way, how did I trip?" She questioned.

"Some Sasuke admirers tripped you," Ino replied with a disgusted look. "Tenten and I saw them talking about it, so we tried to help you. Naruto was the one who brought you to the nurse's station."

"Naruto did that?" She was surprised for a moment, before she realized. "Oh."

"Boy with a crush? Totally." The blonde planted a hand on her hip, blowing her bangs away from her face. "You are screwed."

"Whaddya mean?" She rose an eyebrow. "It's just Naruto, right?"

"Well..." She looked left and right before leaning in to Sakura's face, whispering, "Apparently, word's getting out that Hinata-chan has a crush on him. A persistent one."

"Oh dammit," Sakura's eyes screwed shut in annoyance. "Why me? Why today?"

"Worse yet, about the trip, Sasuke-kun wasn't even looking when it happened." Ino sighed. "He happened to look over just as you fell, and so he was commenting on how clumsy you were with his friends."

"Oh, that rich boy can go to hell," she spat. "No offense, Ino."

"None taken... kind of." She rubbed the back of her neck. "I don't know what to do."

"Don't worry about me, just get back to your team," the pinkette began wheezing and held a hand up when Ino grew alert. "Asuma-sensei's probably wondering about what's taking you."

"I know, but-" Ino bit her lip.

"Just _go_!" She narrowed her eyes. "Not that I hate your company, but you shouldn't worry. I'll be fine. In fact, I'll probably be at dinner."

The blonde frowned, looking between her and the window, where she could see other campers seemingly playing a game of tag.

"Saku-chan, I..." She sighed heavily, grabbing her best friend's hand. "Please don't think I'm abandoning you."

"I don't." She grinned weakly, giving her a thumbs-up with her other hand. "Just go. Have fun. And if you see Naruto, tell him I'm fine."

"I will." Ino's smile came back to her face and she gently hugged her, mindful of her chest. "If you're not at dinner, I'll come back and visit."

"Sounds good to me."

* * *

_\- Present Time-_

* * *

So not only had he not watched his own admirers trip her and cause her to get injured, but he also thought she was a clumsy oaf that couldn't walk two steps without tripping over her own two feet? The nerve!

She sighed again, careful not to aggravate her lungs as she put her journal away. It was way after dinner now, and when Ino had visited she brought a couple of the books the pinkette had brought, claiming that she was bound to be 'bored to literal death'. As much as she exaggerated, Sakura loved her friend.

Naruto had visited about twenty minutes ago, claiming that he would gladly beat some sense into Sasuke. Of course, although she disliked him with a burning passion, Sakura felt that the boy didn't need someone bashing his head in for what some girls did.

Of course, when she voiced this opinion, Naruto didn't fully get it. Nevertheless, he promised to leave him alone - "Except if he starts spewing stuff about me. Then kick him in the family business" - and visit her the next morning.

Lights out had been only moments ago, and so she turned off the desk light and snuggled into the surprisingly comfy spare bed.

Placing the journal under her pillow, she closed her eyes. _"Why me?"_


	4. Getting Back Into It

The next day had come, and Sakura was awakened by the nurse gently petting her hair.

"Wake up, Sakura-chan," she smiled gently at the girl. "It's time for breakfast. Do you feel like you can get out of bed?"

Sakura blinked sleepily and nodded. "Yeah, I guess I can."

With the pretty noirette holding her hand, she slipped out of the sheets and stood up. She hissed at the pain still in her foot from where she'd tripped, but regardless she stood there, hands clasped together over her stomach.

The nurse, Shizune, nodded and gave her a plastic bag. "Kakashi-sensei asked your friend Ino to get some clothes for you."

"Thank you, Nurse Shizune-san." Sakura smiled up at her as she left the room.

She worked quickly, taking off the white gown they'd dressed her in and folding it, leaving it on the nightstand while she made the bed. She put on her undergarments, dressed in a white tank top with a red jersey with 07 on its back, black biker shorts, white socks, and the red tennis shoes she'd worn the day before.

She left the folded gown on the bed, grabbed her journal, and left the nurse's station. She shivered in the early morning air before realizing that she'd never gotten her shower. She glanced back at the dining hall before going back to her cabin, opening the door quietly.

She slipped into their cabin and went straight to her room, locking her journal away in a chest she'd brought in her suitcase. She put the key around her neck under her tank top and jersey, and grabbed a towel.

* * *

She sighed, drying her long pink hair with her towel. "What a relief."

As soon as she stepped foot in her cabin, she saw her teammates sitting at the table. They looked up once the door opened, and Naruto beamed, jumping out of his chair. "Sakura-chan!"

"Hey, Naruto," she greeted quietly. She kept her eyes off of Sasuke, not trusting herself to treat him kindly.

"We've missed you, Sakura-san," Kakashi chimed in. "You're just in time to come to our next teambuilding exercise."

"Great," she cheered half-heartedly. "Just give me a moment to brush out my hair and I'll be set."

Kakashi nodded, although she noted that Sasuke's expression darkened a bit when she left the room.

 _Man, what's his problem?"_ She huffed to herself.

She grabbed her brush and a bottle of detangler and went to work, brushing her hair out until it lay in straightened tendrils down her back. She fluffed it once more with the towel before putting a hair tie around her wrist and going back out to meet her team.

"I only took five minutes, in case you were planning on complaining." She deadpanned with a frown towards the boys.

"Not at all." Kakashi stood from his chair and led them out the door.

Somehow, Sakura found herself in line in front of Sasuke, and she held her head high, not wanting to let him know that she was affected by his presence.

* * *

"Okay, genins, now for our first exercise," Kakashi grabbed a ball and showed the team. "I want you to demonstrate your ability to make baskets."

 _"Is that all?"_ Sakura was genuinely surprised. She hadn't done much basketball, but she had been on the team at one point and vaguely remembered the rules.

"Is _that_ it?" Naruto asked incredulously, echoing her thoughts. "That's nothing! Bring it on, sensei!"

"Hmph. Don't get so cocky." Sasuke turned up his nose at the blond's enthusiasm.

 _"Yeah, that's it."_ Sakura narrowed her eyes at the noiret boy. _"I'm gonna beat him."_

* * *

"Whoa, Sa-Sakura-chan," Naruto gasped for breath, staring up at her with admiration. "You're so... good! Teach me your skills!"

"It's all a matter of practice, Naruto." She good-naturedly ruffled his hair. Even though she'd vowed to beat Sasuke, she glanced at the scoreboard and noted that it was a tie.

She glanced at him and gave him a half-smile. "Good game, Sasuke-san."

He grunted and gave her a nod.

 _"Well, that's the most I'm gonna get out of him,"_ she mentally sighed. _"At least he's not glaring at me like before."_

Kakashi walked over to them, nodding in approval. "Good work. Of course, Naruto, you still have room to improve."

"Yeah, I know..." He grumbled.

"I'm down to teaching you everything I know," the pinkette offered with a full smile.

"Sure!" The blond's demeanor instantly changed, and he grinned at her. "I'd _love_ to get lessons from _you_ , Sakura-chan!"

She saw Sasuke scoff out of the corner of her vision, and she rolled her eyes.

"Well, after we clean up, we're free to go to lunch." Kakashi walked off towards the shed to get the ball bags.

Naruto raced towards the basketball court, leaving Sasuke and Sakura to walk.

"Hey, Sasuke," she called softly.

When he turned around, she patted his shoulder.

"You're a pretty good player," she complimented. "Are you on a team?"

"No." He shook his head. The forehead protector he wore glinted in the sun. "My older brother taught me to play."

"That's cool." She clasped her hands together behind her back.

Silence wafted between them for a few moments.

"I-"

Sakura turned toward him, head tilted. "Eh?"

"Never mind." He shook his head again and picked up a basketball, completely ignoring her.

She sighed, bending over to begin cleaning up.

* * *

"At least this camp allows you to bring electronics," Sakura mused to herself as she sat on a log bench overlooking the lake.

She had one earbud in, listening to calming music as she stared at the large expanse of water.

She had closed her eyes, allowing the breeze to drift across her face, when she heard a voice behind her.

"M-Mind if I sit here?" It was timid, feminine.

She opened her eyes and turned to see behind her.

Ah, it was that Hinata girl.

A worried expression, downcast pearly-white eyes, and straight-cut bangs. She was poking her fingers together.

Sakura smiled. "Sure. I don't mind."

Hinata gave her a timid smile and slowly sat on the bench beside her.

"My name is Haruno Sakura," she said, holding out her hand.

"Hyuuga Hinata," the girl gently shook it. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"It's good to meet you too." She didn't seem anything like her cousin.

"Say... do you like Josh Groban?" The pinkette asked.

The noirette's eyes sparkled. "I love Josh Groban!"

Sakura held out the other earbud. "Wanna listen with me?"

The girl nodded, and took the earbud. Together they sat there, serene, with Groban's voice echoing in their ears while they watched the calm, blue lake.

* * *

When Sakura walked back to the campsite, she saw Naruto and Sasuke approaching.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto cheered. "Hi, Hinata-chan!"

"H-H-Hello, Naruto-kun," the poor girl was suddenly redder than a fire hydrant and she seemed to hide behind Sakura, staring at the ground.

Sasuke gave the pinkette a nod, and she waved at him.

"Ah, kids, you're back." Kakashi was right behind the boys. "Good evening, Hinata-san."

"Good evening, Kakashi-sensei." She gave the adult a smile.

"Now that you're back, I have one final project for you." The silver-haired man held out a basket.

"What's it for?" Sakura asked, taking it.

"I need you kids to go pick some berries before dinner." He smiled at her. "You can raid the berry patch near the nurse's station."

"Sounds good to me." She shrugged, grinning.

"Off you go." Kakashi turned to Hinata. "Should I let Kurenai-sensei know you'll be with us, or are you heading back?"

"I-I'll be heading back... I can't keep them waiting." Hinata hesitated, but then hugged Sakura. "Thank you for letting me hang out with you."

"'S no problem, Hina-chan!" She hugged back. "I'll see you later?"

"If you wish." The girl smiled, then turned to Naruto. "Goodbye, Naruto-kun."

"See you later, Hinata-chan!" He grinned, patting her head.

She promptly turned redder, choking out a hasty goodbye to Sasuke before running away.

The three kids began walking to the nurse's station, Naruto skipping all the way.

Sakura was humming quietly, taking in the beauty of the nature around them, when Sasuke leaned in.

"May I help you?" She asked, turning so that they were accidentally nose-to-nose. Her eyes widened, realizing her mistake.

He didn't even flinch, only leaning back a little. "I, um..."

"Yes?" She choked, still trying to get over the proximity.

He looked away with a frown. "Never mind."


	5. Sasuke's Camp Experience

Sasuke already wasn't having the best day.

First, he wakes up to his mother telling him that today he's going to summer camp, then his brother announces that he's going to branch off and work in something other than the family business, and then he finds out that he's stuck in a cabin with a loudmouth blond and an annoying girl with _pink hair_.

Seriously, who else on this earth would ever have pink hair? He sure didn't know anyone, which meant something, especially since he'd met a large crowd of influential people in the past.

Yet, the Uchiha heir sighed, he digressed.

It really wasn't easy being the son of the owner of a multi-million-dollar company. Especially when its former heir, your older brother, drops the news on you that "Hey Sasuke, now you're gonna be the heir to our company, laugh-out-loud. Try pursuing your dreams now!"

Okay, maybe he was exaggerating about what Itachi had said. A little.

I mean, it's not like he had any other dream besides going to college, getting a degree in business ethics, and working under his brother.

And maybe, just maybe, he'd get married along the way, have a couple of kids, and then make them heirs of the company?

Nah, he scoffed, glancing around at the hearts-for-eyes girls who stood around him. Girls were too much of a liability at this point. Besides, his mother wouldn't start asking for a grandchild until he had finished high school. If he was lucky, his father would wait until he was out of college.

And then there was _her_.

Haruno Sakura. The girl with fiery viridian eyes and hair that reminded him of the cotton candy his mother always bought on festival days. She seemed just so girly, and yet she proved to be more than he'd first thought.

"Oi, hurry up," he'd said, irritated. _"I swear, if this one is going to be a ditz, then I'm requesting leave early."_

Then she turned and, pretty face twisting into a scowl, she hissed, " _Fine_. I choose the _left_."

Oh-ho, he was not expecting that.

Ignoring the heated glare the blond was giving him, he folded his arms.

"Now, Naruto, Sasuke," their cabin counselor had admonished, trying to intimidate them by leaning over them, "Play nice. We haven't even gotten to the classes yet."

He only scoffed at Kakashi-sensei's attempt to be the middle man and strode inside, fully intent on keeping as much distance between himself and Naruto as possible.

* * *

That girl was interesting.

She was completely ignoring him in favor of bunching up her hands in her red sleeveless dress, smoothing the ends over the black shorts she wore. Her eyes shifted back and forth a bit nervously, and her bottom lip was in her teeth, chewing on it absentmindedly.

He gazed in her direction as she introduced herself. She did seem like the person who would love sweets. He tucked the information about her away for future reference. It paid to remember small details about someone.

Especially since it could easily become blackmail material... or just an influence on Sasuke's gifts. He was a thoughtful giver, dammit.

Then came Naruto. As Sasuke had expected, his introduction was everything and annoying. He scowled at his energy. How could someone be so freaking happy about being at this (admittedly expensive) waste of time?

Of course, he didn't want to get chummy with them. As much as the girl intrigued him, he couldn't let her worm her way into his space.

So when it was time for his introduction, he closed his eyes and stated, "Hmph. I'm Uchiha Sasuke, eleven, heir of Uchiha Corp. My likes are none of your business. I dislike annoying people, high expectations, and comparing people. My ultimate goal is to surpass my brother and become the best leader for our business that I can."

Kakashi had sweatdropped, and the girl didn't seem impressed.

Hmph. That was all they were gonna get. If Kakashi could get away with his half-assed explanation, then he could too.

Of course, next was lunch. He walked away, trying to plan out his two weeks.

 _"I'll show him, I'll show Itachi,"_ he sulked to himself. _"Out of the blue shoving his responsibilities on me like that..."_

He heard Sakura and Naruto talking, and he grit his teeth.

_"That stupid Uzumaki... he's such an idiot."_

* * *

He hadn't fully seen what happened.

He just so happened to look over when he saw Sakura falling. It looked as if she'd tripped on something.

Half of him screamed to go over there and catch her, but the louder half reasoned that he didn't know her that well, and it was way too far to catch her safely-

Luckily, the Yamanaka girl caught her with her leg and avoided a total mess by catching the tray at the same time. Silently, he commended her on acting fast, although that thought went away when he saw Sakura slump over.

Immediately, he saw - and heard - Naruto yell, jump out of his seat, and scoop their cabinmate into his arms. Ino put the two trays away and ran with him out of the dining hall doors.

 _"Most likely to the nurse's,"_ he thought as he turned back to his own food.

"Man, talk about clumsy, huh?" One of the boys at his table snickered.

Most of them agreed, although Sasuke stayed silent.

_"Who could have tripped her?"_

He glanced over towards the giggling girls' table. _"Of course."_

Of _course_ his moronic 'fans' would have something to do with it.

He narrowed his eyes. _"Pathetic. What makes them think I condone violence?"_

He looked at the table where Sakura was sitting. The Tenten girl sat there by herself, calmly eating her rice.

 _"I'll have to apologize at some point for letting them do it,"_ he mentally sighed. _"But how?"_

"Right, Sasuke?" One of them snapped him out of his thoughts.

Distractedly, he agreed. "Hn. Yes."

* * *

For the rest of the day, he kept silent. Naruto still tried to provoke him into snapping, yet all he did was glare in his direction and keep to himself. He wasn't here to pick petty fights, he was here to learn some self-defense and get his mind off of his brother's betrayal. Picking fights was Cousin Obito's job (and damn was he good at it).

Kakashi glanced over at him more than once or twice. Of course he'd have some idea.

Snapping his porn book shut, he stood. "Sasuke, may I talk to you alone for a minute?"

Sasuke nodded wordlessly and followed him to a spot next to the clothes-washing station.

"Alright, spill the beans." The silver-haired man crossed his arms. "Something is bothering you. Is it Sakura?"

Sasuke twitched. "Maybe. What's it to you?"

The man chuckled softly. "I know you didn't mean for her to get tripped."

His onyx eyes met with Kakashi's. "What are you trying to say?"

"I'm saying, you should apologize." The adult sighed. "Geez, you kids are stubborn. And intuitive. When I was your age, I was busy trying to stop Obito from trying to see how sharp a shuriken was by stabbing himself in the hand."

Sasuke didn't say anything for a few more moments, before spotting some wildflowers in the meadow below.

"First, you should apologize." Kakashi followed his line of sight and smiled beneath his mask. "And get her flowers too, if she'd into it."

The preteen snapped his head around to stare at his teacher.

"What, wondering if I have experience?"

_"No, you look like you're forty. But are you superhuman?"_

"I'll only say this: girls are complicated, much more than you'd expect." Kakashi pulled out the pornographic novel again. "But there is one thing you can always count on, and that's that they're willing to forgive your faults if you genuinely apologize."

Momentarily stunned by his otherwise-lazy teacher's words of wisdom (and common sense), Sasuke could only dazedly follow behind him as he walked back to their cabin.

* * *

Dammit, dammit, dammit.

Sakura didn't even look at him the next day without glaring.

 _"What did I do?"_ He wondered. _"Is it because of her fall yesterday afternoon?"_

She looked kind of pretty with her skin glistening with moisture and her wide green eyes assessing their teammate.

When she pulled the towel away from her head, he couldn't help but stare at the mass of hair falling in damp strands down her shoulder.

"Just give me a moment to brush out my hair and I'll be set." She said, mostly to Kakashi, before disappearing into her bedroom.

He glared at Naruto when the boy elbowed him in the ribs.

He waited for about five minutes before she reappeared, her hair brushed straight, with most of it falling down her back. It honestly reminded him of his mom's hair after a shower, in a purely platonic way. It was... kinda pretty.

_"Alright, screw it, maybe there is some truth to the rumor that I like girls with long hair."_

* * *

The basketball game had been a joke.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead after taking off the headband each kid had been given. When he was finished, he slipped it back on, mindful of his bangs.

"Good game, Sasuke-san." He turned to see her giving him a half-smile.

His heart felt like it dipped for a moment. Sasuke _-san?_

The only thing he could do was go "Hn" and give her a nod back.

 _"Really, Sasuke? That's_ it _? That's_ all _you can say?"_ His inner voice yelled at him for being an idiot.

Kakashi appeared again and told them to clean up.

Naruto had reacted in disgust that he needed to improve his - barely there - skills, but had started _flirting_ with Sakura once she offered him lessons!

Sasuke scoffed.

When Kakashi walked towards the shed, Sasuke rolled his eyes.

 _"He's probably going to waste time reading that adult novel,"_ Sasuke thought in distaste. _"Is that even legal? Can he openly read tasteless porn in front of minors?"_

Naruto raced towards the court to start picking up basketballs, when the Uchiha noticed that Sakura had begun walking next to him.

He could swear he detected a hint of apple coming from her hair... apple shampoo?

"Hey, Sasuke," she called softly.

He turned at the sound of his name coming from her lips.

She patted his shoulder, and he felt a shiver go up his body from where she touched.

"You're a pretty good player," she complimented him. "Are you on a team?"

 _"Hold up, whoa, whoa, she actually wants to know?"_ Inner Sasuke was confused.

"No." He shook his head, at the same time trying to silence that annoying voice in his mind. "My older brother taught me to play."

She seemed interested in the mention of his older brother, and she clasped her hands together behind her back. "That's cool."

Neither of them said anything for a while, and Sasuke tried to will himself to apologize.

"I-"

When Sakura turned to him, her drying hair falling off one shoulder, head tilted, he lost what he was going to say. "Eh?"

"Never mind." He tried not to look at her as a blush to rival her hair rose to his cheeks. To distract himself, he began picking up the basketballs.

He heard her sigh from behind him, and silently cursed himself on an opportunity lost. _"You idiot, you can't even apologize? You're worse than Itachi running away from Izumi on White Day!"_

* * *

Later on that day, he was walking towards the nurse's station with Naruto and Kakashi-sensei when he saw Sakura and the Hyuuga girl approaching.

He paid no attention to the shy noirette, instead focusing on Sakura. She looked calmer than before, not angry at him like she had been. When she looked his way, he gave her a nod, and in return she waved.

Kakashi gave a basket to Sakura and told her their plan of picking berries. To Sasuke's surprise, she seemed enthusiastic about doing it.

 _"What is it with people and picking berries?"_ He questioned, but his face remained impassive as Hinata said goodbye and they began walking to the nurse's station.

Naruto went ahead of them, same as usual, and Sasuke took the opportunity to get closer to Sakura to try and figure out the sudden apple smell.

When he was close enough that he could deduce that, yes, the apple smell was coming from her hair, Sakura asked, "May I help you?" and turned so that they were both nose-to-nose.

While he didn't outwardly show any change, his heart jumped and Inner Sasuke _shrieked_. Her cheeks began to flush red when she realized how close they were, she she turned away.

Not wanting her to freak out, he put some distance between them and tried again. "I, um..."

"Yes?" Her voice seemed choked.

He couldn't do it. Not with her face flushed like that, not when she clutched the basket to her chest like that. Maybe he really _was_ worse than Itachi running away on White Day. His brother had beaten him again. Dammit.

"Never mind." He said as he looked away with a frown on his face.

_"Mission failed, we'll get 'em next time."_


	6. Kakashi's Late-Night Wisdom

The moon shone gently in the sky, the stars glittering around it like millions of diamonds in a vast navy sea.

Sakura tore her eyes away from the window and sighed, swinging her legs over the side of the bed.

"I'm thirsty," she mumbled to herself as she put her slippers on her feet.

Silently creeping through the cabin, she took her cup to the kitchen and filled it with tap water.

 _"Knowing them, this tap water is super filtered,"_ she thought as she glanced into it. _"Much better than our water."_

She looked at the window again and decided to drink it outside.

She spared a glance to the boys' bedroom door, and, with a tiny smile, opened the front door and slipped outside.

Taking off her slippers at the door, she put on her sandals and stepped out into the chilled night air. As a breeze brushed past her, she shivered, cursing herself for not bringing more than a night robe.

She found a bench on the hill overlooking the field and sat there, one leg crossed over the other, drinking her tap water.

Surprisingly, it tasted great. It was - pardon the pun - a fresh glass of water in the desert that was drinking tap water at home.

The pinkette exhaled in content, watching the trees sway with the wind.

"Can't sleep?"

The hushed voice made her jump, and when she whirled around she saw her teacher standing there with a robe and sandals.

"Y..." She tried to calm herself by taking a deep breath and staring into his eye. "Yes."

"I'm sorry for scaring you," he chuckled, patting her head as he sat beside her. "I heard you open the front door."

"It's fine," she assured, stealing a glance at him. While he had the robe on, she could see that otherwise, he had no shirt, and he was _mus-cu-lar_. If he wasn't, like, thirty-five (and her teacher), she would totally go for it.

She tore her eyes away from his exposed chest to clear her throat and drink more tap water, trying to will the blush away.

"What's keeping you up at this time of night?" He asked, looking at the watch he wore. "It's almost one in the morning."

"Oh." She nodded. "I'm just worried about a business meeting my parents are going to. If my father gets the job, everything could change for the better, but... I don't exactly like the company."

"That does sound like a lot." His eye went back to her. "Don't worry. I'm sure your father will do fine. Who knows? Maybe the company will prove themselves to be trustworthy."

"He's definitely determined," she agreed with a quiet laugh.

The silver-haired man smiled, watching the waves on the island's shore slowly tumble onto the sand, recede, and then wash up again.

* * *

_Running._

_"Run! Run!" Someone was shouting at the top of their lungs as he dumbly stood there, unable to perceive what was happening._

_He looked around in concern, watching camper after camper stumble past._

_"Run!" That same voice screamed again, and he saw Sakura dashing towards him, face contorted in pure terror._

_"Sa-" He gasped out when she grabbed his hand, dragging him along with her._

_"Run! She repeated, whipping her head around to stare him in the eyes. "He's going to get you!"_

_"Who is-" He wanted to ask, but a sickening crunching sound from behind them made her yelp and try to go faster._

_"Sakura!" He called out. "Sakura!"_

_"He's gonna get you!" She finally turned to see the thing behind them and gasped loudly, throwing Sasuke away from the forest path._

_"Saku-" He groaned in pain as he tumbled down the rocky dirt. He skidded to a stop and could only stare in abject horror as Sakura was caught by a shadowy 'thing', her screaming echoing in his ears as she was eaten alive._

_When her reaching arm finally disappeared into the monster's mouth, his heart plummeted, giving his body the feeling of falling from a great height._

* * *

Gasping for air, Sasuke opened his eyes wide, sweat dripping down his face. His hair stuck to his forehead and he could still feel the terror running through his veins like ice.

 _"Sa-"_ His eyes flew around rapidly, only to find that instead of the red-tinted forest scene he had been in only moments before, he was instead in his dark, shared bedroom, and he could hear Naruto snoring a few feet away.

He lay in his bed for a few moments more before his anxiety got the better of him, and he slipped out of bed and exited the bedroom. He looked across the room and saw that Sakura's door was open. Panic set in for a split second before he heard quiet laughter outside, and he went to the door and saw Sakura sitting outside on the bench overlooking the field with Kakashi right next to her.

Half of him sighed in relief.

Then, the other half of him grew suspicious. _"What are they talking about out there?"_

Against his better judgement - and knowing that his mother would be disappointed, if she were here - he sat by the door, listening intently to their conversation.

* * *

"Is Sasuke always so... y'know?" Sakura asked her teacher with a light sigh. "He seemed so angry at everything our first day here..."

"No, he probably had a bad day," Kakashi offered, folding his arms. "He's come to this camp for years, ever since his brother first came. Ah, I remember how cute they were..."

"I keep hearing about his older brother." She nodded. "What was he like?"

Kakashi chuckled again. "You'd have to ask Sasuke about that, I'm afraid."

The girl groaned, slumping in her seat. "He's already unapproachable, how in the heck would I get him to talk about his brother?"

The adult patted her head. "Don't worry. Despite what you might think, Sasuke is actually rather girl-shy."

"Really? _Girl-shy_?" She snorted. "It seems like he hates most of them, although I admit he has good reason."

"Sure, he dislikes most of them." Kakashi shrugged. "But he just doesn't know how to articulate his feelings. Must be a family thing. I remember that his brother was extremely similar, though not quite so cold."

Sakura turned to face him, listening intently.

"He reminds me of me at that age," he stroked his chin in thought. "In fact, we were the same. He has a standoffish exterior, but don't let it fool you. From the way he acts around you, I can tell he does like you, he just doesn't know how to show you other than being more open to conversation."

"I haven't seen him glaring at me since this morning," she observed with a frown. "But I thought that was just because I fell."

"Maybe half of that, half of the other." His dark eye closed as he smiled at her. "Why don't you try talking to him more? Get him to open up?"

"How the heck do you know all of this?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. "You say you and Sasuke were the same, so did you have a girl you tried to be friends with?"

Kakashi's carefree demeanor vanished, and when his eye opened, he looked solemn.

"Yeah... I did." He admitted with a sigh. "She was a pretty cute girl, but she had a hopeless crush on me."

 _"Sounds like me a couple of years ago,"_ the pinkette thought. She vaguely remembered having a crush on a boy she'd never met, back when she was seven, just because Ino was head-over-heels for him.

"We were at this very summer camp, and I was paired with her and another boy." He continued. "I think he's a relative of Sasuke's."

"Seriously? Cool." She commented.

"What wasn't cool was that we were in a sort of rivalry, per se." He turned to her. "His name was Obito Uchiha. He had a crush on the girl, and so he was always vying for her attention."

"Sounds familiar..." she frowned, Naruto's face downturned in a jealous frown appearing in her mind's eye.

"It does, doesn't it?" He agreed. "In the end, though, the girl finally moved away and left Obito and I in Konoha. She still writes letters sometimes, but she promised to come back someday."

"I'm sorry, Kakashi-sensei." Sakura patted his shoulder. "I'm sure you'll get to see her soon."

The teacher looked down at his student, her wide viridian eyes so full of life. He could almost see Rin, in a way. In some bitter irony, their faces were already similar, but if he allowed himself to drift a little, he could see her beaming grin.

A quiet sound, like shuffling in the bushes, made him snap out of it.

He looked around. _"What was that?"_

He was instantly alert. Something was wrong.

"Is everything okay?" She asked him, concerned.

"Shh," he breathed, holding a finger up to where his mouth was behind the mask. "I think something's near..."

She shut up immediately, eyes wide and scared.

He stared into the darkness, tilting his lopsided forehead protector up to reveal his left eye. He scanned the area intently, a frown on his face.

A few minutes passed, and everything was silent.

* * *

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. Something was happening, he could feel it. His heart had picked up speed in trepidation.

 _"Could it be...?"_ Part of him feared the worst.

He was snapped out of his thoughts by another rustling, and it sounded closer to the building.

"Quick, Sakura, inside." He could hear Kakashi's voice, urgent.

Sasuke stumbled away from the door just as it opened, and he could see Sakura's face twisted in fear.

"Sas-" She gasped upon seeing him, but he shushed her and grabbed her hand, pulling her inside.

He glanced out the doorway to see Kakashi walking around, seemingly in patrol mode. He shut the door and looked at his female cabinmate.

Her face was pink, her eyes were wide, and she was staring at his hand in hers.

He looked down and almost cursed himself for acting out of instinct, but he gripped it tighter and stared her in the eye. "Your room."

She shakily nodded and allowed him to lead her to her room, and he shut and locked the door behind them.

"S-Sasuke, what's going on?" She asked him, her voice tinier than it had been before. Where was that tough exterior now?

He turned to see her huddled on her bed, gazing at him.

"I don't know," he admitted with a frown. "The same time Kakashi-sensei noticed something, I did too."

She shivered again, and he went to her bedside, sitting on the edge.

"You don't have to sit like that," she admonished gently, grabbing his arm.

He felt his face heat up at her contact, and he slid over so that his legs hung over the bedside.

She relaxed her grip and pulled the covers over herself, still trembling slightly.

"Are you afraid?" He asked quietly.

"I had an experience like this when I was six," she replied. "Except last time, a burglar had broken into our home while everyone was sleeping. I was the only one who heard it."

Sympathy washed over him, and he turned to face her better.

"In the end, I forced myself to go to my parents' room and get my father." She bowed her head so that her forehead rested against her knees. "The good news is that he didn't get away with stealing anything, but it was still terrifying."

"Don't worry," He tried to soothe, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "It's not a burglar."

She nodded and huddled close to his chest. "I'm still scared..."

He sighed silently, getting close enough to gingerly rest a hand on the tip of her spine, brushing her hair out of the way. "If you want, I'll stay with you until morning. Okay?"

She paused for a moment, considering.

Finally, she looked up at him with a tiny smile. "O-Okay."

* * *

Kakashi sighed in relief, not finding anything near his cabin. "Well, that's one thing taken care of."

As he went back inside, he glanced back again. Seeing nothing, he slowly shut and locked the door.

He took off his shoes by the door and noted that the cabin was quiet, save for Naruto's loud snoring.

He glanced towards Sakura's bedroom door, seeing that it was closed.

He walked to the boys' side and peeked in, finding Sasuke's bed empty.

Somewhere in his memories, he recalled a little brunette hugging a boy with silver hair in the forest, not minding that his arm was seeping blood into her new shirt. A second boy with mussed black hair stood a ways away, looking on in mild jealousy.

A smile blossomed on his face as he looked at Sakura's door again, before he slipped back into the bedroom, content that his kids were safe.

 _"... And besides, what staff member doesn't secretly ship their students?"_ He mused. It wasn't like he had anything better to do when he lay wide awake from his dreams in the middle of the night.


	7. Something Happened?

The next morning, Sakura's eyes fluttered open to sunlight filtering in through her curtains and the sound of someone else's soft breathing.

Someone else's...?

She looked to her right, only to see Sasuke's face only inches from hers. His eyes were closed, his face relaxed for once, and he exhaled quietly through his slightly-parted lips.

She smiled softly. _Man, he's kinda cute when he's sleeping._

Trying to decide between getting up and staying in bed, she looked again out the window.

Knowing Kakashi and Naruto - but more importantly Kakashi - she wouldn't have to expect any sort of exercises until after breakfast... if they even got up before breakfast.

Slowly, she reached for her phone on the table, trying not to wake Sasuke. When she finally had it in her hand, she saw the time light up on the screen. Only eight AM.

She sighed quietly, setting it back onto the table and closing her eyes. _Well, if Sasuke's not up yet, then maybe I should try to sleep._

...

_...Pfft, good luck with that. Not with this sunlight._

Finally giving up on sleeping in, she turned to look at Sasuke's face once more-

-Only to find that his eyes were open, and he was staring at her.

"O-Oh!" She gasped, her hand going to clutch her chest. "You scared me! Ah- g-good morning, Sasuke."

He blinked before looking around.

"Hm." He nodded, getting up from his spot.

Her heart began beating faster at the sight of his shirtless torso before she tried to calm herself by smiling.

"How about we go see if Kakashi-sensei's awake?" She offered, glancing toward the door.

He looked at her for a good few moments before agreeing quietly and getting up from her bed.

* * *

The two exited the room after Sakura had made her bed, only to find their teacher and other teammate sitting at the table.

"E-EHH?" Naruto shouted, jumping up from his seat and pointing at the noiret. "S-So it was true! Sasuke-teme, you and Sakura-chan...?!"

"Calm down, idiot, it's not what you think." Said boy snapped, glaring at Naruto. He looked absolutely mortified at the accusation.

"Yeah, Naruto, we didn't..." Sakura put her hands up in defense, an embarrassed flush crawling up her neck. "H-He and I just..."

"There was something during the night that made me fear for Sakura's safety," Kakashi explained calmly, sipping a mug of coffee. "So I appointed Sasuke to stay with her until morning."

"Whaaat? Aw, _c'mon_ , Kakashi-sensei," Naruto whined, slumping back into his chair with a defeated frown, "you could've just asked _me_!"

"No offense, Naruto, but you sleep like you're dead." Sakura deadpanned, folding her arms. "A _snoring_ corpse."

She heard something like an attempt to cover up a snort, and when she glanced at Sasuke she could see his hand falling from his mouth as he tried to maintain a stoic expression.

"I saw that!" Naruto accused.

"Now now, kids, not so early in the morning." Kakashi gave them disapproving looks. "Go ahead and get dressed and head to breakfast. We have a lot to cover today."

The three immediately sobered up.

"Kakashi-sensei, are you okay?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, you're acting... differently this morning." Sakura added with a worried frown.

Their teacher rested his gaze on her for a moment, seemingly contemplating something, before he began chuckling.

"You read too much into this," he said as he stood, patting her head, "I'm fine. Go ahead and get to breakfast."

* * *

After getting dressed, Sakura began walking to the dining hall when she saw a couple of girls leaving their cabins.

She frowned, recognizing a few of them - as Ino had pointed out to her - to be some of the ones that tripped her on her first day at camp.

She hid herself behind another cabin as they walked past.

"I don't know, Karin, I just-" one of them, a girl with purple hair, sighed harshly, raking her fingers down her face. "I feel like something terrible happened last night, but I don't know what!"

"I know what you mean." The redhead, Karin, nodded sympathetically. "I had this terrible dream last night that Sasuke-kun got eaten by a huge... thing!"

"Oh no, not _Sasuke-kun_!" The other one gasped dramatically.

Sakura frowned, not even bothering to wince at their actions. "Huh... so Kakashi-sensei wasn't the only one last night...?"

She shook her head and kept going, eventually slipping inside of the dining hall.

"Hey, Sakura!" Ino's voice made her turn.

Said blonde was waving at her from their table, and while Tenten was there, she also saw Hinata waving shyly.

She grinned, waved back, and headed to get her breakfast.

Once she'd selected her food, she got her drink and headed back to their table.

"So, Hinata, you're sitting with us today?" She asked, giving the girl a friendly smile as she sat down between her and Tenten.

"Y-Yes, I felt like I wanted to sit with you..." she looked down at her lap. "...if it's okay..."

"Of course! It's totally fine with us!" Tenten enthusiastically replied, reaching across Sakura's back to pat her on the shoulder.

She blushed pink once Naruto came in, arguing loudly with Sasuke.

"Looks like someone woke up on the wrong side of bed this morning," Ino laughed.

Sakura began to get very interested in her food as Sasuke got his food and passed them.

"Wait, wait, wait." She looked back at Sakura and her eyebrows rose. "Did something happen between you two that I'm missing here?!"

A pink tint spread across Sakura's cheeks and she shoved more of her omelet in her mouth.

"Oh my gosh, it _did_!" Ino squealed, slapping the table. "Details! Now!"

"Nothing really happened," Sakura mumbled, swallowing her food. "I was talking with Kakashi-sensei last night and... I-- I guess he felt like something was wrong? I don't know. I ran into Sasuke when Kakashi-sensei told me to go back inside and he ended up staying in my room all night."

Ino gaped, Tenten's eyebrows rose, and Hinata covered her mouth with her hands.

Sakura stopped sipping her orange juice and rose an eyebrow at them. "What? 's not a big deal, is it?"

"N-Not a-" Ino breathed out so suddenly, she almost choked on air. "You're so wrong if you think that isn't a big deal! Sasuke's not given _any_ other girl here the time of day and he _sleeps_ in your _bed with you_ all night long?! Give me your secrets!"

" _Shush_ , keep it down!" Sakura hissed, glancing quickly at the fangirl table to make sure they didn't hear. "In case you didn't realize, there's a certain group of people who aren't exactly lining up to be friends with me."

"Still, that's a huge leap forward for you, Saku." Tenten chimed in after slamming down her now-empty carton of milk. "The only thing more newsworthy is if that pretty boy _Neji_ stopped looking at himself in the mirror and threw himself at a girl."

"You really have something against him, don't you?" Sakura frowned.

"No offense, Hinata, but your cousin is _insufferable_." Tenten sighed dramatically.

"None taken, Tenten." She replied, shaking her head. "I agree, Neji-san can be quite..."

"Hopeless?" The brunette finished exasperatedly. "Between him and Lee, I don't know who I despise more."

Naruto finally sat down at their table, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sorry it took so long to get here, guys."

"It's okay, Naruto-kun," Hinata boldly addressed him, giving him a sweet smile before her confidence seemed to run out and she stared down at her lap, folding her hands together.

He looked at her with a sheepish grin. "Oh, I didn't see you here, Hinata-chan."


	8. The First to Go

Sakura finished drying her hands, glancing at her reflection. She smiled to herself, reaching up to tighten her ponytail before turning to exit the bathroom.

On her way out, she ran into the redheaded girl from earlier, Karin.

"Watch it, _Bubblegum_ ," she hissed as she shoved Sakura out of the way.

Said pinkette rolled her eyes and called over her shoulder, "Rude!"

She made her way back to where her team was. Smiling at her teammates, she sat down on the grass in front of Kakashi-sensei.

"Sorry I took so long," she said.

"It's no problem, Sakura." Her teacher smiled. "We were just discussing what to do for our cabin activity tomorrow."

"Cabin activity?" She cocked her head to the side. "What's that?"

"A cabin activity is where we get to do something fun while everyone else is training!" Naruto was bouncing up and down on the grass, a big grin on his face. "We get to choose it, too! We could have an extra shopping trip, we could go tubing on the lake, we could take a hike... the options are endless! We can even invite another cabin or two to play a game!"

"Whoa, really?" Sakura's smile matched the blond's. "That sounds awesome!"

"Yeah!" Naruto enthusiastically replied. "All we need now is your opinion."

"Well, what were you thinking we could do?" She asked, hugging her knees.

"We had agreed to take one of the boats and go tubing." Sasuke said, closing his eyes.

"Ooh, that does sound fun."

She paused. "Wait... are we the only cabin that has an activity tomorrow?"

Their silver-haired teacher nodded. "Unfortunately, yes. Since we have so many cabins, we have to spread out their days off. You can invite another cabin to join us, however. They'll still have a day off, but if you invite them they'll get an extra day."

"I'm honestly surprised nobody's invited us on their day off sooner." She hummed in thought, resting her chin on her knees.

Naruto snickered while Sasuke looked at him, mildly annoyed.

"Anyway," she continued, looking up with a smile, "tubing sounds fun. I'm in!"

"Excellent." Kakashi smiled at her with his eyes closed. "Meet by the docks tomorrow during team exercises in your swimming suits."

* * *

Sasuke glanced over at his teammates for a few moments.

Both were sweaty and panting. Sakura's pale skin shimmered with sweat, any stray hair sticking out of her ponytail sticking to her face and neck. Naruto was grinning, slapping her on the back, his bright orange tank top sticking to his chest and dark with sweat.

"Great game, Sakura-chan!" He complimented. "You on a team or something?"

"Of course not, Naruto," she shook her head tiredly. "My dad taught me how to throw."

"Good game, children," Kakashi called out. "Now if you could go pick up all the shuriken, we can take a break for dinner."

At Naruto's whoop of "Food!" the three of them - well, really, the two of them, since Naruto darted forward in an effort to clean up - went to the giant sandbags and began plucking the shuriken from both the bag and where they'd been lodged into the ground.

As Sasuke bent over to yank one out of the grass, Sakura accidentally tripped on Naruto's foot and fell hard on her chest, making her wheeze in pain.

"Ah-- shit--!" She gasped, feeling for her ribs.

"Are you alright?" Kakashi asked, jogging up to her.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto cried, kneeling dramatically next to her. "Are you alright? Do you need CPR?"

Sasuke slapped him upside the head with an irritated scowl. "Idiot, she doesn't need CPR."

Ignoring the blond's angry tirade, he extended a hand to her. "Here."

She painfully rolled onto her back and looked up with a wry smile. "Ah- thanks, Sasuke-san."

She gripped his hand and hoisted herself up.

Sasuke's expression didn't change, but silently, he was baffled at her strength. _"What is she? How can someone have this strong of a grip?! Is she a bodybuilder or something?"_

She grunted as her knees buckled for a moment. She staggered into Sasuke, propping herself up with a hand on his chest. She stalled for a moment before locking her knees and regaining the strength in her legs.

"Whew, that was kinda scary." She commented with a chuckle. "Almost lost my footing there."

"Are you sure you're fine?" Kakashi seemed mildly concerned as he brushed some grass off her back. "If you want, I can take you to the nurse..."

"No, no, I don't want to miss any more classes." She vehemently shook her head, a defiant frown on her face. "I don't want to be known as 'That Kid' who keeps going to the nurse's office all the time."

"But you bruised last time," Naruto commented, folding his arms across his chest. "What if you made that injury worse?"

"How would you know that I bruised my chest?" She whirled around with a dangerous glare. "You'd better not mean what I think-"

"Relax! I didn't see anything!" He cried, protecting his head with his arms. "The nurse! Nurse Shizune! She told us that you bruised your ribs!"

She calmed down, exhaling deeply. "Well..."

"Let's just clean up the training ground," Sasuke grumbled. "The faster we do this, the faster we can eat."

* * *

"Sakura-san, are you okay?" Hinata asked quietly, leaning closer to speak directly into her ear. "You've been breathing rather irregularly for the past ten minutes."

"Oh, I'm fine, Hinata." She gave the noirette a grin, extending her a thumbs-up as well. "I accidentally fell last class. Nothing big."

"You're not supposed to be doing too much with that injury, you know." Ino bossed, giving her a mini glare.

"And I don't remember you being my mom, but we all forget some things, right?" She shot back with a frown.

"Sakura, I'm just trying to help you." She sighed. "If something happened to us, I don't want you to be the first to go."

"I know." She poked at her chicken with a glum frown.

A blonde girl came walking up to their table, sitting on the edge with a worried frown.

"Hey, hi, you don't know me." She began, talking rapidly. "I'm Temari. I'm from Cabin 12."

"Nice to, uh, meet you." Tenten said awkwardly.

"Have you seen our cabin leader?" She burst out, tapping her fingernails against the table. "She's been missing since this morning, but she always leaves out an agenda for the next morning, so we've been either training in the field or hanging out in our cabin the entire day."

Hinata blinked. "Now that you mention it, Kiba-kun was talking with... um... Kankuro?"

"That's my brother," she nodded in affirmation. "Continue."

"Kankuro-san was telling him about how they couldn't find their cabin leader..." She slowly sipped her tea. "Maybe... the rumors are right?"

"Rumors?" Naruto wrinkled his nose. "What rumors?"

"Kiba-kun was telling our cabin last night about how a monster is stalking camp." She shivered a little. "Apparently, the monster is taking the adults in order to leave us defenseless and eat us."

"Eh?" Temari shook her head in disbelief. "That's a... rather stupid rumor. Why wouldn't the monster just take a kid and eat them?"

"Probably to arouse less suspicion," Sakura mumbled into her fork as she rose another bite of chicken to her mouth. "Imagine how freaked out the staff would be if a kid went missing, versus if a fellow staff member went missing."

"I guess, but still..." Temari sighed. "So none of you know where she went?"

All of them shook their heads, and she sighed again.

"Well, okay then. Thanks anyway." She stood up and trudged away dejectedly.

* * *

"Strange," Sakura said as she sat by the fire, sipping some cider. "Kakashi-sensei, do you know where Cabin 12's sensei went?"

He didn't answer for a long time, but finally, he replied, "No. Why? Do any of you know anything?"

She shook her head. "No. Temari-san was asking us about it earlier."

He got a weird look on his face and he turned away.

His three charges stared at him for a few minutes.

When he glanced at them, he frowned. "What?"

"You know something." Sasuke spoke first, staring Kakashi in the eyes.

"I- well I _may_ know something." He defended. "I'm not entirely sure it's correct."

"Still, any hypothesis is a good starting point." Sakura shrugged.


	9. Kakashi's Way of Noticing Irony

Out of everything he'd expected when Tsunade had given him the job that summer, he hadn't expected _this_. Not coming back, not signing up to be a counselor, and especially not taking a trio of munchkins under his wing.

It had taken quite a lot to even convince him to go near a summer camp after the incident in Itachi Uchiha's second year there. It had taken Obito three years of talking to him, and for Rin, ten months of back-and-forth letters and calling.

As much as he wished either or both of his old friends could be there with him, he knew that something would go wrong. Call it 'Uchiha Luck', or whatever you wanted; Whenever you had an Uchiha in camp, something _always_ went wrong. Obito would be complaining his ass off about it, if he was here.

Kakashi sighed deeply, taking another sip of the cocoa he held in his hands. It was the perfect day to stay inside and do nothing, what with the sudden rainfall, but he knew that if he didn't plan anything, Naruto and Sasuke would probably murder each other before dinner. What a drag, as that Shikamaru kid would've said.

As he stared out into the downpour, his thoughts turned to the counselor that had vanished. Sure, he had theories, but they held no merit unless he had solid evidence. Besides, it had been years since the last trace of the person he suspected... hardly a time to bring them up now.

He sipped again. He'd have to be blind if he didn't see the parallels between his attendance and his kids'. Sakura was just like a mini Rin, forever determined to prove herself and so bubbly. Naruto was definitely most like Obito, however much the man would object to that, although not quite as annoying. (Of course, Kakashi could have a biased opinion for the man.) And Sasuke...

He closed his eyes. He hated to admit it, but the duo reminded him of himself. At age twelve, he had already skipped a grade in school and was technically the elder of the group, like Sakura, even though they were all around the same age. He'd come to escape the ridicule surrounding his family name and, as a result, held a sour mood for most of the time he spent there, like Sasuke had felt about his brother passing on the company.

Thankfully, he'd had a good team. Had it not been for Rin and Obito's influence, he thought to himself grimly, he probably would have turned out much worse. Instead, he was a nonchalant, lazy man who preferred reading hentai to... well, much of anything else. His need for revenge against those who wronged him was quelled... for now.

Still, he wondered. Sakura had mentioned that a girl, oh, what was her name... Temami? Temara-- _Temari!_ Temari had lost her counselor, apparently. As far as he knew, there was only one person he could think of that could and would have something to do with kidnapping innocent people. But unless he had evidence...

* * *

He watched his genins play the board game they'd pulled out with interest. Each one of them showed potential, each in their own way.

Both Sakura and Sasuke were smart. Almost scarily so. While they were neck-and-neck in smarts, she excelled with her observation and intuition. She probably knew all of their strategies by now, only the second time playing - even Naruto's. Even though the boy wasn't quite as intelligent, he was extremely clever. He knew how to hide his emotions, and had even tricked Kakashi once or twice by looking frustrated, when really, he was about to put down a winning move.

 _"Just like Kushina,"_ Kakashi had noted with pride. _"Right down to her smile."_

He smiled from behind his mask. They were pretty amazing, he had to admit. They had proven to be more than he'd first thought they'd be.

 _"Let's see... pink-haired girl, probably ditzy, loud Uzumaki, gonna be a real pain in my ass, oh, look, Sasuke. Probably moody as ever, considering his brother,"_ he'd thought to himself with an internal groan when he first saw them. Even though it had been a good three-to-four years since he'd last saw the boy, he'd heard reports from Itachi before he'd gone to high school that he'd been a bit sullen as of late. He'd hoped that wasn't going to be the case, but for the first couple of days, yep, he was pretty emo.

Thankfully, he'd noticed that the boy was softening - and to the girl, no less. It had taken a grand total of _one day_ \- and one injury - for him to grumble to Kakashi that he was worried about her wellbeing. Said man had simply chuckled, patted him on the head, and proudly told him that he was growing up so fast. Sasuke had scowled and pushed his hand off, but he noted that the boy seemed to focus instead on staring into the distance. _"Probably thinking about her,"_ he'd thought to himself with a smug smile. _"Or just embarrassed. Knowing him, probably both. Kids are so impressionable these days."_

Sakura, as much as she seemed to share Naruto's distaste of him at first, seemed to be warming up to him. He'd seen her many times sit next to him when they were together as a team, defend him when Naruto accused him, and even show concern if he got hurt. Sure, he didn't _look_ like he wanted his female teammate helping him up, but deep down, Kakashi knew he appreciated it. Besides, what preteen boy wanted a blow to their pride? Kakashi knew he would've been mortified had Obito laughed at him getting helped to his feet by Rin back in the day.

Naruto... well, that kid was full of surprises. From day one, Kakashi was sure that he would slow the group down and be a general annoyance. But he was the son of Konoha's ex-mayor, after all - the very same ex-mayor and now principal who had, at one point, taught Kakashi when he came to Camp Shinobi. His mother was a well-known legal aide and he even had Seju Tsunade, KPA's famously strict mayor, as his godmother. He was born into a family of opportunity, and as much as he _was_ a general annoyance to those who didn't really know him, he was a clever boy who had promise. One that reminded him fondly of his eternally-mischievous mother.

He was broken out of his thoughts by Naruto's triumphant cry of "I win!" and Sakura's congratulations. The blond was grinning like he'd just won a puppy, and Sasuke, although looking irritated, seemed somewhat interested at the thought of a challenging rival in the game.

* * *

Later that night, the four of them sat around the campfire, eating some onigiri that they'd made during a cooking lesson that afternoon.

He was mildly impressed with how good the rice balls had turned out. Naruto was happily munching on one and Sakura was splitting hers with Sasuke. Apparently, she'd accidentally cut his left hand kind of deep earlier, and so, to apologize, she pledged half of her food to him until it stopped bleeding. (Kakashi had told him, after he'd changed the band-aid only a few minutes before, that it had stopped, but he didn't seem to care. The sneaky little fucker had actually looked him _right in the eye_ and peeled it back open, without even grimacing. Kakashi was both disturbed and intrigued by his skills -- and his determination to uphold that pledge.)

"Kakashi-sensei, you've been staring at the fire for the past two minutes now." Sakura's worried voice snapped him out of it, and he looked up at her. He had to blink rapidly before he could actually see her, as it had gotten pretty dark. "Are you _sure_ you want to go blind before you hit 30?"

If he hadn't spent days on end with her already, he would have thought she was deathly serious. The barely-concealed grin tipped him off, though, and he huffed a laugh. _"Just like Rin."_

"I'm good, thanks." He gestured to the last rice ball. "Anyone want the last one?"

Naruto at _least_ had the decency to wait until both Sakura and Sasuke said they didn't want it before claiming it as his own.

Another fond smile crossed his face under his mask, watching as the kids talked animatedly about what they wanted to do tomorrow. _"Just like we used to be."_


	10. And Another One Gone, Another One Gone

The first thing the cabin woke up to was Kakashi's loud, annoying camp-issued phone ringing.

Said man grumbled sleepily, reaching for where it vibrated on his nightstand. Once he'd answered the call, he sighed. "What?"

...

There came a few moments of silence.

In their room, the two boys sat up, Naruto in a sleepy haze, and Sasuke in thinly-veiled ire. In hers, Sakura mumbled something and yawned, getting out of bed.

...

Kakashi suddenly sat up, his expression serious. "What cabin?"

The voice on the other end of the line continued to speak rapidly, enough to spur him to swing his legs over the side of his bed and get up.

He put on some pants, tugged up his mask, and exited his room, nodding a 'good morning' to his genin as he stood at the front door.

"And you're sure?" He asked, stifling a yawn with his hand. "You sure they didn't just step out?"

The one word the kids heard was a panicked "No!" from the phone.

Sasuke and Sakura exchanged glances, and Naruto rose his eyebrows at them both.

Their teacher suddenly nodded. "I completely agree. Okay, go tell Senju-sama about this. I'll gather my kids."

Without so much as a 'goodbye', he hung up and turned to them with a serious countenance.

"Looks like we'll have to start the day early," he said humorlessly. "Let's get dressed and head over to where we have campfire."

* * *

It looked like just about every cabin was there, some children more nervous than others. Some of the older ones were comforting those that looked like they would burst into tears at any second. Sasuke let Sakura hold his hand tightly, something that didn't go unnoticed by the other female campers.

Tsunade got up on the podium and looked across the crowd of campers, frowning grimly.

"We apologize to disturb your mornings, children," she began, "but several incidents have come to our attention over the past couple of days, and we need to address it now before things get more out of hand."

Sakura caught Temari's eye and shot her a sympathetic look, to which the girl shrugged with a wry smile.

"We didn't want to alarm you, but a few of your counselors have gone missing." She continued. "We request that you be on the lookout for either them or any strange and/or unfamiliar adults. We still want you to have a safe and fun experience here, so until the adults are found, we request that you cancel any nightly outdoor camp activities. This also means that any fun cabin activities are cancelled. If you have any possible leads as to who might have done this, please let any of the adults know."

Some campers groaned, others grumbled about not being able to go on a shopping spree or tubing or what have you. Naruto was among them, sending a glare at the ground.

"How awful," Sakura whispered. She stole a glance at Kakashi, who looked more sullen than he had when they'd woken up that morning. "Kakashi-sensei won't be next, will he?"

Naruto, who was at her left, shook his head rapidly and stage-whispered back. "Kakashi-sensei? Naw, he's gonna be fine! He won't let anyone take him."

Still, she remained unconvinced.

* * *

"Tell us everything you know, please." Sakura pleaded as soon as they were back in their cabin.

"Yeah!" Naruto chimed angrily. "It's not fair that you know things we don't, Kakashi-sensei!"

Said man sighed heavily, looking tiredly at his charges. "Like I said last night, I don't want to accuse anyone without proper evidence."

"The way things are going now, we won't have time to get 'proper evidence'." Sasuke snapped right back. "We need to know."

He nearly glared at Sasuke. What did _he_ know? He was only eleven! Kakashi had been a counselor since the boy was _two_! Granted, he took a break after the Incident, but that didn't mean he had any less experience!

"All right, all right, I'll let you know." He scrubbed his face with his hands in irritation. "But I'm warning you now: If you tell _anyone_ yet, I will confine you to the cabin until the others are found."

He sent Naruto a pointed look. "That means you too."

The boy rose his hands in surrender. "I promise I won't tell!"

He hummed in reply, still not believing him. Then, he leaned in. "All right, gather around."

The three children pressed even closer, eyes trained on him.

"I've been digging," he began, "and using my own experiences both as a counselor and as a camper. There was one man I knew when I was your age that might have gained an interest in this camp."

"And who is he?" Naruto asked.

 _ **Beat.**_ "They call him... _the Snake_."

"The Snake?" Sakura shivered when she said it. "Sounds creepy."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes in thought. "I think my brother might have some idea of what you're talking about."

"He would. It happened his second year as a camper." Kakashi replied with a curt nod of his head. "Everyone calls it the Incident."

"Why is there always some unnamed, mysterious incident?" Sakura huffed. "Literally every summer camp has some weird story that nobody talks about until weird things start happening!"

He chuckled. "As funny as that is, this one is serious."

"They always are," she murmured underneath her breath.

He ignored that statement and continued. "Nobody knows his real name, only the one he goes by: Orochimaru. He was one of the people that Principal Namikaze worked with back in the day when he was a counselor here. He used to be a mild-mannered person, according to him."

Naruto beamed with pride at the mention of his father, but his grin slowly slid off his face. "So... what happened?"

Kakashi looked around. It was kind of a silly thing to do, but he wanted to make sure said man wasn't watching through the windows himself, as silly as it felt. "When he became a worker here, he expressed interest in becoming its director. One of his friends was also considered for that position, but he refused. The Snake was rejected, and apparently he got so angry he held several people ransom until they would give him the position."

"The director would _never_ bend to someone threatening harm," the Uchiha scoffed.

"You say that now," he trained his deadpan gaze on him, "with Senju-sama as director, but back then, the director, Sarutobi, had counseled him when the camp didn't have a lot of money."

"So he was weak to his will," Sakura realized. "He didn't want to hurt his former student."

"Oh yeah, totally." Kakashi rolled his eyes. "He almost let him have it, but before he could, the local police force got here and took the Snake away."

"And you think it's that guy again?" Naruto asked incredulously. "Isn't he in jail or something?"

"He only served a week in jail until someone bailed him out." The gray-haired man replied. "Nobody's seen him since. It's been rumored that he's in prison to stay, but no one knows for sure."

"That is really creepy," the pinkette shook her head rapidly, trying to shake her bad feeling. "So he came back? Why would he be doing the same thing again?"

"That said, I don't know 100% if it's his meddling." Kakashi finished. "He could have someone else doing something. But I know he's at least involved. I have a pretty good feeling about it."

A chill went up the spines of the three other occupants. Naruto shivered loudly while Sakura got closer to Sasuke, nearly leaning on him as if to get away from the thoughts Kakashi had planted in their minds.


	11. Rising Tension

It was a difficult day. Hinata sat with Tenten as she told the table about the counselor who'd gone missing the night before. She pointed out a group of boys staring sullenly at their food a few tables over, totally quiet. It was a disheartening sight, and the kids had to look away before their meal was spoiled too.

Ino seemed especially freaked out about it. She kept asking if the kidnapper would be targeting the campers next, and no matter how many times the others said no, she simply sat there, poked at her chicken, and wouldn't say anything else.

Naruto seemed more cautious now, taking wider sweeps of the area with his eyes as he ate. He sat with his back against the wall, apparently paranoid of someone attacking from behind.

Sasuke, surprisingly, sat with them - to Sakura's right, between her and Tenten. He kept glancing up at the door, as if waiting for someone to appear.

Everyone in the lunch hall was tense, some moreso than others.

Some of the girls still felt brave enough to try and flirt with Sasuke, but most of them stayed in their groups. He either waved them away or glared at them until they left.

Deep down inside, the sick feeling that had begun to plague the pinkette only grew stronger, causing her to push her plate away.

 _"Dammit,"_ she thought angrily to herself as her stomach churned. _"If this keeps up I'm gonna need to ask Kakashi-sensei for a day off..."_

* * *

_"I don't know, I-I'm just-"_ Ino's voice was panicked, even now. _"I'm so scared. Anyone could disappear! We've already had two_ adults _taken!"_

"Calm down, calm down," Sakura instructed, pinching the bridge of her nose. She sat upright in her bed, relaxing against her pillow. "It's all right. They're probably only targeting adults for now. Who in your cabin are you closest to?"

There was a pause, then a bit of a shuffling noise on the other end of the line.

"Ino?" Sakura called.

 _"I had to move,"_ she explained. _"My leg fell asleep."_

"Who would be okay with you being their partner for a while?" She asked again, picking at her nightgown's soft fabric.

_"Um... I guess Shikamaru and I are okay right now."_

"You don't sound that sure." Sakura deadpanned. "Isn't he already friends with Temari?"

 _"Yeah?"_ She said, her voice rising at the end. _"I guess the only other one would be Sai, but... he's not in my cabin."_

"Which one is he in, then?"

_"Cabin One, I think."_

"Don't worry so much about this." She smiled to herself, even as she grew nervous. "I promise, if you ever got targeted, I would do anything to get you back safely."

Someone knocked on her door and when she looked up, Kakashi opened it and poked his head in.

He muttered in a low voice, "Sorry to disturb- the cook brought us all leftover soup, in case you're feeling better."

She thought about it for a moment, but then shook her head. She moved the phone away from her mouth to reply, "Sorry, Sensei. I still feel pretty sick."

He nodded in understanding. "Feel better soon, then."

He shut the door and she went back to her call. "Sorry about that. Apparently, the cook brought us soup."

 _"Yeah, he did for us, too."_ Ino replied. _"It's pretty good. You didn't want any?"_

"Nah, I still feel nauseated." She sighed. "Sucks, especially since it smells like it has beef."

 _"I'm sorry."_ Ino giggled. _"But hey, maybe Sa-su-ke-kun will feed it to you if he manages to cut up your hand!"_

"Ino!" She hissed in embarrassment, making her laugh more. "That was an accident!"

 _"Accident my ass!"_ She snorted. _"At least he didn't flat-out reject you when you offered your food!"_

"C'mon, he's a _boy!_ " She protested. "I've seen how much he and Naruto eat during mealtime!"

 _"Okay, okay, you got me there."_ Ino's laughing finally faded down to mere giggles. _"But seriously, there's no more opportune moment to get closer like when you have to be nursed back to health."_

"I'm not gonna force him to babysit me just because I feel like I'm gonna puke." She groaned.

There came a choking noise from the other end of the line. "Ew, _Sakura! That's disgusting! I'm eating egg!"_

"Your fault for bringing it up, Piggy!" She retorted with a smug smile. "Anyway, I've gotta go. They're probably wondering why I'm being so loud."

 _"Okay. Have fun with your unromantic sickness."_ Ino sniffed, but her tone wasn't unkind. _"I'll see you tomorrow?"_

"Yeah." They both said goodbye and hung up.

Sakura stalled a little longer, holding her phone out in front of her face, studying the screen. As soon as Ino ended the call, the screen switched back to her wallpaper, a photo of the two smiling and holding popcicles from last summer.

She shook her head. Ino wouldn't be taken... right? No, of course not. She was growing too paranoid.

She held her stomach, the sickness hitting her worse. Her face twisted in nausea and she swung her legs over the side, getting up with intent to go throw up.

She made it out of her room and nearly ran into Naruto, who was standing near her door with a bowl.

"Oh, hey, Sakura-chan!" He greeted with a grin. "You want some soup?"

"N-No thanks, Naruto," she managed a smile. "I'm good."

"Are you feeling all right?" Kakashi got up from the table, looking very concerned. "You look green."

"If 'green' is an emotion, I feel it." She groaned.

He paused, looking her up and down. His eyes lingered on her face for a few moments before sliding down to glance at her abdomen, which she was clutching slightly. His eyebrow dipped and his eye narrowed.

Kakashi hummed in thought.

Then, he turned to Sasuke. "Sasuke, would you mind staying with her tonight to make sure she doesn't get worse?"

Naruto nearly choked on his noodles and Sakura's face probably got whiter. Her stomach was killing her now, and she quickly excused herself to run to the bathroom.

Sasuke watched her slam the door shut and sighed. Rolling his eyes (and forcing away an embarrassed flush to his cheeks), he grunted, "Fine."

Kakashi smiled pleasantly as Naruto began to sputter indignantly, angrily slurping up more noodles when Sasuke flat-out ignored him.

* * *

She felt so weak.

She slumped against the cold porcelain and groaned, trying to will the strength into her core muscles. Her turbulent stomach was quelled for now, but who knows when it would threaten her again? Her shaking fingers dug into her hair to pull it away from her sweaty face as she grabbed some toilet paper.

She wiped her mouth with it and let it fall into the toilet before flushing. She couldn't even look away as the remains of what had been her lunch that afternoon swirled into oblivion. She had a feeling that if she looked at it -- or even _smelled_ it -- that she would vomit again.

Frustrated tears pricked at her eyes, and she clenched them shut and rested her burning forehead against the seat.

For a good ten minutes, she cried, hands clenched into fists and face hidden by the toilet.

Just what was causing this illness? Was it anger? Was it fear? Was it some kind of bug going around the camp?

All she really knew was that she was worried to death about her best friend. She didn't want Ino to get hurt in a million years, even after the fight they'd had a few years ago.

And Kakashi-sensei... even though he was lazy, and even though he didn't seem like much, he was an amazing teacher. She could tell that, even if he didn't want to, he cared about them a lot. She felt a special fondness from him in the way he patted her head after practice, or when he would take special care to make sure she was okay after training.

"I knew it," she sobbed quietly, the taste of acid so pronounced on her tongue now nearly making her want to throw up again. "I knew this camping trip was going to be a waste of time."

When at last her tears had begun to slow down, a firm knock came at the door.

"Sakura," Sasuke's flat voice came from the other side. "You've been in here for twenty minutes."

"Oh, s-sorry!" She struggled to get up, her limbs nearly giving out on her as she propped herself up against the counter. "I promise, I'll only be a few more minutes!"

She didn't hear a response, but she assumed he'd walked away.

She grabbed her toothbrush and some toothpaste and scrubbed at her teeth, trying to get the lingering smell out of her breath.

After a good few minutes of brushing, she rinsed, gargled water, spat, and wiped her mouth with a small hand towel.

She looked at her reflection with distaste. Tousled, stringy-looking pink hair clinging in sweat, eyes that looked both sunken in and red and puffy, and paler-than-usual clammy skin. She probably looked as much like Death as she did feel it.

"Don't look at me like that," she growled at her reflection. The girl in the mirror glowered back silently.

She couldn't look at herself anymore and opened the door, only to see Sasuke waiting a couple of feet away.

"Oh, I'm sorry." She apologized quickly, stepping out. "Did I keep you waiting too long?"

He thankfully didn't answer, although he produced a handkerchief out of his pocket and placed it, folded, on her forehead.

He dabbed it a little bit and then pressed his hand to her bare skin, frowning when he felt her. She shivered when she felt his cool hand, and almost moved away, had he not reached for the back of her head at the last second.

"You're too warm," he grunted, eyes darting back and forth across her face. He slung an arm around her shoulder, as if to hold her up. "C'mon."

"Whoa- where are we-?"

"Your room." He sent her a disbelieving look, as if it were so painfully obvious she'd have to be from the Stone Age to not get it.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry." She laughed sheepishly, but stopped short when her stomach protested.

He merely glanced down at her shirt for a moment as he walked her to her room.

"Where's Kakashi-sensei?" She asked.

"Tired. He's napping." His sentences were short. "Naruto too."

 _"He seems more dismissive than usual... probably like his patience for me,"_ she thought as he sat her down on the edge of her bed. _"Although... that's weird. Kakashi never goes to bed early, and neither does Naruto."_

She tucked her legs under the sheets and flipped the covers over herself, turning to lay down on the pillow.

She saw Sasuke look around before spotting her trash bin under the desk by the closet. He brought it over to her side of the bed, making sure that it was directly below her head.

She exhaled slowly, and was about to close her eyes when she felt the bed shift and navy blue entered her vision.

"What are you doing?" She asked, her eyes opening wide. She made a move to sit up, but he stopped her with a surprisingly _gentle_ hand on her shoulder.

"Kakashi made me stay with you, remember?" He asked. His face was blank, and she couldn't quite tell what he was thinking. At least he didn't seem annoyed.

_Ohhhhh._

She nodded dumbly. "Yeah, I do."

He flipped the covers off on the other side, took off his overshirt, and crawled in. He folded the shirt and put it neatly on the bedside table.

"Warn me before you puke," he said bluntly. His eyes were half-lidded and his mouth was drawn in a thin line.

She rolled her eyes, but she smiled. "Sure, I'll try to."

With that, she closed her eyes. She squirmed a bit to get comfortable, but once she found the best position, she lay still.

She briefly thought that she felt something that resembled a warm hand find hers before she drifted off.


	12. Taken

Unlike the last time Sakura woke up with Sasuke in her bed, this time he was shaking her awake.

"Sakura, wake up!" His voice, although low, was urgent. "Sakura, c'mon!"

"What? What is it?" She opened her eyes groggily. Traces of nausea remained, enough to make her uncomfortable. "What's the hurry?"

"Kakashi-sensei told me to wake you up. He needs to tell us something." He replied, going over to her drawers. He opened it and seemed to search around for a while.

"Whoa, hey-!" She sat up, but not quick enough, as he threw some clothes at her. "Who said you could pick my outfit?"

He turned to stare at her. Instead of his normal cool stare, his lips were pressed into a firm line, his skin seeming paler than normal.

She shut up when she saw the look in his eye. Impassive irises were now almost _panicked._ She'd hardly ever seen him scared of something, but she realized that she didn't want to think about what would frighten him like this.

"This is serious." He deadpanned. "Something you need to hear."

He left her room, thankfully, but said he'd be right outside her door.

As soon as the door shut, she went to work. She threw the covers off, already pulling the nightgown over her head. She put on some black basketball shorts and a black tank top, putting a red sweater over it.

She ran her brush through her hair enough to get it to both detangle it and make it flat, checked her appearance in the full-length mirror on her closet, and went for the door.

Sasuke turned to her and followed behind as she speedwalked to the living room.

"Kakashi-sensei, what's the fire?" She asked breathlessly, eyes wide.

He looked up from something he'd been writing on with a grimacing frown.

"Sakura," he began, "you may want to sit down."

"It's not Ino, is it?" The thought terrified her too much, and her legs began to wobble.

" _No_ ," Naruto piped up from beside their teacher, his countenance distraught with fear and frustration. "It's Hinata."

* * *

"Sakura!" Ino cried out at the cafeteria, throwing her arms around the girl. "I'm so glad you're safe!"

"What happened to Hinata?" She asked.

Tenten glowered at the table. "The asshole came in the night, while they were sleeping. Nobody in the cabin heard a thing."

The pinkette growled, slamming her fist against the table. "Are they gonna let us search, at least?"

"No," Temari chimed in. Her face was cast with shadows, dark bags underneath her eyes. She looked exhausted. "They're only gonna let the adults look, and they're gonna put us all in here until they get back."

"That's stupid!" Sakura cried. "That makes us easy targets!"

"But it also makes it easy for us to catch who's doing this," Ino reminded. "Believe me, I hate it too. But you've gotta admit, this is one of the best things they can do right now."

"It is weird, though." The brunette glanced out the window to where the cabins were. "When I was coming down, I saw two cabins with weird... slash-marks on them."

Wait. _What?_

Sakura echoed those thoughts as soon as she'd thought them. "Wait, what?"

"Two cabins... ah, I forget what numbers they were! Two of the cabins had these weird claw marks on them." Tenten gave her a weird look. "What, you didn't see that?"

"Which cabins?" The pinkette pressed, leaning against the table. A bad feeling was brewing in her stomach, although she couldn't tell if it was just fear or if it was a Stomach Virus Round 2.

"Um..." She squinted hard. "I... uh... I think one of them was... seven...?"

The bad feeling got worse, and now she knew. "Tenten, that's _my_ cabin... _I'm_ in cabin 7! Which means..."

"There must be someone this person's trying to get!" Ino realized with a gasp. "But who could they want? I doubt they're looking for Naruto."

"Unless Namikaze-sama had what they wanted..." She muttered. She shook it off. "No, that... doesn't seem right. What would Namikaze-sama have that some kidnapper would want?" _"Nobody's gone after Naruto directly before..."_

"Um, money from when he stepped down, the control of an academy that houses first to eighth graders, literally _anything someone in power has_?" Temari stared at the three of them as if they'd just said that Gaara was going to be the principal of Konoha Private Junior Academy.

All three stared right back.

_Beat._

"No, that's stupid." Ino huffed. "Anyone can do that. Heck, if I were even an ex-mayor, I'd bet you fifty bucks that I'd be one of the first targets in an act of terrorism. Seventy for my spouse and children."

"Besides, he has enhanced security due to his status." Tenten reminded. "He already guessed that he'd be next."

Temari's left eye twitched. Perhaps involuntarily.

* * *

Sasuke grumbled as Naruto continued to talk.

It had been a good- he looked at his watch and resisted the urge to sigh -fifteen minutes since they'd been locked in the cafeteria, and all the blond had done was spout some stupid, annoying theories about what the adults were doing at the moment.

He almost wished Sakura would come over and slap some sense into him, because if she didn't, then he may just end up doing it for her.

Fortunately, one of the other boys at the table managed to direct the conversation elsewhere, and now they were talking about the latest knockoff video game console, or something.

Anything to distract from the cold fear that had enveloped their bodies only half an hour before. Even now, it was unnerving to think about.

He began to think about it more. What would the kidnapper gain from taking a shy, unassertive heiress over practically anyone else? Hell, even the Neji prick would be a better capture, and he wasn't even going to _inherit_ the main branch of the company!

Sweetheart heiress that may not even get the company due to her inability to be even _remotely_ aggressive... why not go after a big-ticket kid? Like... _Naruto_...?

Then something struck him as off.

Earlier, while putting out some inane theory about who was behind this amid some quotes from that Hairy Potted Her book series or whatever it was called (honestly, Sasuke just couldn't be bothered to remember), between the 'my father will be hearing about this' and various other Draco quotes (the one character he bothered to learn the name of, as he found the character the easiest to listen to), he'd mentioned slash marks up and down one side of the cabins. It was almost as if a gigantic monster had been trying to claw its way in somehow. Either that, or someone had put up one hell of a fight.

A chill went up his spine, but to his benefit, he didn't show it. No, no, it was impossible. Marks like that only existed in television shows with shiny silver swords and dramatic speeches over a waterfall created with homage to stone carvings of long-dead men and _actual magic_. Such things didn't exist in their world. They _couldn't_ exist in their world.

He got up from the table and crossed the room over to where his pink-haired housemate was sitting. Perhaps her group would have ideas. Ideas that were more plausible than ridiculous thoughts of a world not unlike that Shonen Jump manga that Naruto always read before bed.


	13. Sitting On Our Hands

"Now are you sure you didn't even get a picture?" Temari asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I don't even have a cell phone that takes good-quality pictures!" Tenten sighed exasperatedly, scrubbing her hands along her face. "Even if I did have one, mine was charging in my room when Gai-sensei made us come to the cafeteria!"

"But nobody else-"

"Do you honestly think Lee has a phone." Tenten deadpanned with narrowed eyes. "Like, do you think he could be trusted with a smartphone for more than a week without accidentally breaking it."

"You've only known him for a few days, right?" Temari shot back.

"Uh no, how about I've gone to _school_ with him?." She shivered a little bit. "You do _not_ want to leave him alone with paper. Trust me. Someone's losing an eye."

"Hey, guys, guys," Sakura interrupted, placing her hands between them as if to put up a wall. "We aren't discussing this to fight, remember? We're doing this for some leads."

"We know," Tenten gave her a split-second glare, but it fell from her face as she slumped in her seat. "Sorry. I'm just- Neji's been freaking out about this ever since early this morning, and his moodiness has been pissing me off."

"I'm sorry too," Temari assented with a grumble. "I haven't been in the best of moods ever since our teacher went missing, either."

"Now that you two have made up," Ino piped up, frowning, "maybe we can get some ideas going around."

"I agree." The sudden voice made them jump. Sakura looked up to see Sasuke standing behind their table with an unreadable emotion in his face.

"Sasuke, hey," she greeted. "We were just going over what we know. Do you have anything?"

Slowly, he shook his head. "I was going to see if you'd found anything."

"Well this blows," She huffed a piece of hair out of her face. "What do we do now?"

"We'll go over it again," he sat down right beside her and leaned in, assuming his 'thinking' posture, "what do you have as info?"

"Well," Ino cleared her throat. "Early this morning, Neji called both his and Kiba's teachers in a panic because he couldn't get in touch with Hinata. Kurenai-sensei looked in her room, but he found the window open and some blood on the floor."

"So whoever took her was able to at least cut her," he muttered, "interesting."

"And when we looked around, all I saw was these weird slash marks on two cabins." Tenten observed with a hum of thought. "Yours and Hinata's."

"Almost like someone didn't go down without a fight..." Temari hummed, her chin in her hand. "They took counselors, right? Maybe that's when the marks were made. Anyone around here carry swords?"

"My family is trained to carry small swords when we go into martial-arts training," Sasuke chimed in with narrowed midnight irises. "But what does this mean? Surely no one of my family would be behind this."

"Unless..." Ino trailed off when he glanced over. She shook her head vigorously. "No, never mind, it was a bit of a reach. So getting back to the topic at hand, they got Hinata. And the slash marks on your cabins would mean..."

"It was along the same path, perhaps on the same list," Sasuke agreed. "They were on no other cabins, correct?"

"No." Tenten shook her head. "Just yours and Hinata's."

"So what you're saying is that someone deliberately tried to take one of ours too?" Sakura's eyes widened a fraction. "Not to say it's far-fetched, but..."

"It must've been the soup." The brunette suddenly gasped, hitting her fist in her open palm. "Gai-sensei was out _cold_ after he ate both his and half of mine. He _never_ goes to bed until well after sundown because he goes for jogs around the island!"

"And Kakashi-sensei, too..." Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "That would explain the sleepiness I felt. But who would poison our food to get us? And who were they after? Naruto?"

"He's too obvious to go after." Temari chimed in. "I mean, think about it: he's the previous mayor's son, he's kind of an airhead at the worst of times, and he has a pretty bad knack for getting himself into trouble. It's like he was born with a target painted on his forehead or something."

"That's true, he does have Big Protagonist Energy." Ino nodded in agreement. "But I doubt they'd be stupid enough to go after Kakashi-sensei. I've heard the rumors about him."

"Rumors?" Sakura and Sasuke chorused at the same time, with identical confused looks.

"Geez, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you two are twins." Ino shook her head. "Yeah, of course there are rumors!"

"I haven't... been paying attention to any, I guess." The pinkette muttered, sheepishly blushing. "I've been so focused on training, I haven't..."

"Me neither." Sasuke, in a surprising turn, seemed to agree. "I've been busy getting stronger."

"You two really are weird," Tenten gave them a weird stare. "Are you _sure_ nothing happened between you that we should know about?"

Sakura's cheeks flushed darker. "I-I promise, we haven't done anything!"

"Hm." Sasuke seemed... oddly not displeased at her reaction, merely glancing over. "Kakashi has asked me to protect her."

"Disregarding all that nonsense, there are rumors around the girls that Kakashi's super strong." Ino turned the conversation back towards their lazy teacher. "Stronger than he looks. I've heard that he once fought a convicted criminal - and won!"

"A-And who would that be...?" Sakura got a deep, stirring feeling of the not-very-good variety.

"Um..." Ino wrinkled her perfect button nose. "I think... I don't remember what they called him, but apparently he's bad enough that he had to be locked away for a while."

A strange calm came about her shoulders. _"So it couldn't be who I thought it was..."_

* * *

After a grueling three hours in which no further estimates were given, the adults finally let them head back to their cabins. Sakura glanced towards Hinata's and tried to ignore the sick twisting of her stomach when she saw the side of the wall. Sure enough, the deep, slashing canyons crawled creepily up and down the wall, as if they were dark black ribbons.

A shiver went up her spine, and she huddled closer to Sasuke.

As they got to theirs, she stopped.

"Sasuke, she was right," she whispered as she pointed. "But... those marks..."

"On our side of the cabin," he confirmed with a deep, contemplating frown. "I wonder..."

"Something wrong?" Kakashi turned back and gave them a look.

"Sensei, those slash marks on your side of the cabin..." Sakura pinpointed them for him. "What are they?"

When he looked, his eye narrowed.

"... I see..." He hummed. Folding his arms across his chest, he sighed. "That'll be a lot in repairs."

"What's the deal, sensei?" Naruto yelled, finally making his presence known. "Why are you so calm about this?"

Their teacher turned his deadpan gaze towards the blond.

"Naruto, in your life there will always come a time when everything's going to chaos." He began, his voice deeply serious. "And when that happens, if you don't control your emotions, nobody will."

All three children were silent as he climbed the steps to their cabin. He unlocked the door and opened it, gesturing inside.

"Well?" He asked. When nobody moved, his eye crinkled in that familiar smile behind his mask. "C'mon, let's sit down and have a talk."

Not one of them noticed the way his eyes shifted towards the forest, nor the hand that came up to reveal his scarred eye.

He hadn't had to use Obito's eye for years, but now he was grateful for the enhanced sight.

He squinted, irises darting back and forth across the wooded area for a few seconds, before he nodded and slipped inside.


	14. Unexpected Realization

As soon as the door shut and the lights were flicked on, the three turned to their teacher with questions in their eyes.

His faux smile dropped and he folded his arms across his chest. "All right, now I know you three are going to have a lot to ask me. First, though, I need to show you something."

The kids looked at each other and, with resigned expressions, shrugged.

He led them towards the boys' side, where he opened his door and let them peer inside.

His room was neat and tidy, befitting a man of his reputation. However, everything seemed normal enough.

"Sensei, is this the window with the claw marks?" Naruto asked, looking up at him.

Kakashi shook his head and pointed to their room.

The two boys shared a look, one of muted horror, and opened their door.

While Sasuke's side of the room was tidy, Naruto's was messy, so much so that if one tried to come in through the window, they would have undoubtedly woken up by the intruder tripping over a myriad of random things.

"How in the world did you get all this stuff in here?" Sakura was dumbstruck at the mess. "What the crap, is that a- is that an _instant pot_?"

Naruto rubbed the back of his neck with a sheepish chuckle. "What can I say, sometimes I get hungry?"

"You went through five packs of ramen in two nights, loser," Sasuke deadpanned with a glare. "And I didn't even bring any for you to waste."

The blond began sputtering rebuttals, but that wasn't enough for Sakura to focus on.

"Wait, hold on a minute." She narrowed her eyes at the window. "Is your window cracked?"

The two ceased bickering at the surprise and turned to look.

Indeed, their window sported what might be considered a dime-sized crack in the corner, where the handle to open it was, just a couple of feet away from Sasuke's bed.

"Wait, it _is_ cracked!" Naruto exclaimed. "How the hell did we both miss that? Sasuke?!"

"Don't ask me, I haven't slept in here!" He snapped back, inspecting it with scrutinizing eyes. "Dammit... but _how_?"

" _That's_ how they got in!" She suddenly yelled, effectively startling them out of it. "But how did they not break your window? Is it reinforced or something?"

Kakashi shook his head. "Now let's sit down and I'll tell you what I know. There isn't much that's not classified, however, so I'm limited in what I can actually say."

The four made their way to the couch, where the three kids faced their teacher with expectant faces.

"All right." Kakashi nodded to himself. "First, nothing that I say can actually leave this cabin."

He pointedly looked at Naruto.

"Oh, come on!" Said blond wailed. "My mouth's not _that_ big! I can keep secrets!"

"I don't doubt that," Kakashi answered airily. "But my rules still stand. If I hear complaints, I'm keeping everything else from you until your friend is found."

He shut his mouth and sighed, nodding in resignation. "Fiiiiiine."

With that, their teacher began talking.

"Okay. So first, we did find those, _claw marks_ , for lack of a better term, underneath Hinata's window. Her window was also the only one on the cabin that was broken."

"And it was where the handle was?" Sakura asked.

He nodded. "Correct. As for the blood... it seems our attacker accidentally cut themselves with a shard of glass before making their retreat with Hinata. We've already sent a sample to the police department for them to analyze. For now, though, we have our hunches - and of course, I've had mine."

"Could your thesis really be right?" Sasuke's eyebrows rose. "Would the Snake even have a way to make those crevices on the building?"

"No," the silver-haired man admitted. "But perhaps something else would."

"No." Sakura immediately countered. "Absolutely not. We are _not_ going to-"

"Snakes."

She groaned, slapping her forehead. "Come on! Snakes- why does it have to be _snakes_? Why not _bears_ or something? That would make so much more sense!"

Sasuke wouldn't admit it, but as much as he found the creatures fascinating, thinking about that many snakes in one place made his skin crawl. Especially considering the man harnessing them.

"Yes, it would make sense, but Orochimaru has never been clever in practical matters. Refuge in audacity, and all that. Take from that what you want." He closed his eyes. "He's been known to have been in the company of some less than pleasant species of snakes before, and some of them secrete an acidic venom that could have most likely created those."

After a moment in which he amusedly acknowledged his students' abject horror, he added, "Well, _that_ , or he could have just made them himself."

* * *

Sakura shivered, the thought of someone that crazy running around making her afraid to even close her eyes.

After Kakashi had dropped some more _wonderful_ knowledge on them (and had promptly laughed and said he was just kidding, and that he actually couldn't tell them what he really suspected), he told them that it was time for bed. As the intruder had obviously been targeting the boys, he told them that they'd have to sleep in different rooms.

Then he cheerfully appointed Sasuke to stay in Sakura's room, while Naruto stayed in his.

Immediately, Naruto had begun protesting. When that was snuffed out by Sakura admitting that she wouldn't mind, he continued to sulk until Kakashi led him away.

Surprisingly, Sasuke seemed totally fine with it. He was nonchalant as he brushed his teeth and got ready for bed, as if it were any other normal night. But if she looked closely, she could see the dark rings under his eyes, punctuating his worry all the more.

She watched him from her side of the bed as he shrugged off his shirt, folding it neatly.

When he noticed, he spared her a glance. "What?"

She looked away, a slight flush darkening her cheeks. "Er- it's nothing."

He 'hmm'ed, setting his shirt on the nightstand and putting on a larger t-shirt with the name of some band on it. Probably his brother's, judging by the size.

She checked her phone for any new texts or calls. Only one text came up from Ino.

_(I have to tell you something... can you call?)_

She frowned. She turned to Sasuke, who was now sitting with the covers hiding his lower half, a book in his hand.

"Sasuke," she called softly, getting his attention, "I'll be right back. I have to call Ino."

He nodded curtly, his eyes watching her as she left the room.

She went to the bathroom, shutting the door and sitting against it. She dialed Ino's number, and on the second ring, she picked up.

_"Sak?"_

"I'm here to talk." She murmured into the phone. "Are you okay?"

 _"No,"_ the girl whimpered through the phone. She sounded as if she were on the brink of crying.

"Ino, what happened?" She asked, panic beginning to spread through her mind.

 _"I'm just-"_ a shuddering sigh, _"- I'm sorry. I'm sorry."_

"What happened?" She repeated again.

_"Sakura, I- I met someone today."_

"Who?"

_"Someone walked with me when I went to take a shower tonight... he wanted to know about Kakashi-sensei."_

She didn't say anything, but a heavy dread began to spread across her skin.

 _"A-And I told him,"_ she hesitated, _"I told him about who was in your cabin. He kept wanting to know about Sa-"_

"Sasuke," Sakura interrupted quietly, finally realizing. It felt like a slap to the face. "How could I not have realized sooner?"

 _"Realized what?"_ Ino sounded a little less like she was going to bawl, but a sniffle gave it away.

"The marks," she replied, her hand shaking as she tried to stand up. "The- the window- I have to tell him!"

She finally got to her feet. "Thanks, Ino!"

 _"Eh?"_ She still sounded confused. _"You're welcome, I guess? Are you mad that I told him...?"_

"No, no, I'm not." She assured quickly. "Believe me, I'm actually happy you told me! I've got to go."

She said goodbye and hurried to Kakashi's room.

Why hadn't she thought of it before? _Nobody_ would target Naruto, even if he did have a knack for letting his big mouth get him into trouble. As Ino had mentioned, it was just too easy. _Sasuke_ would be a much more inviting prize, seeing as his family was one of the most prestigious in the country. They would surely have whatever it was that the creep wanted, no matter how powerful they were. No matter if it was an illicit dealing or not, Sasuke would be a better grab. Naruto's family? His parents were too well-known for their martial arts that it would be futile to even _think_ about taking him. That, and he probably had an app on his phone that alerted his parents if he was taken away from a certain radius. Overprotective, but functional. Plus, the camp had Tsunade in its ranks, someone known for her brute strength and take-no-prisoners policy when it came to messing with her campers.

And with what he'd said before, about his family being trained in martial arts? Maybe they wanted to try and hold him for ransom... or perhaps they were trying to keep him _away_ from something...?

She knocked on the door, breathless. "Kakashi-sensei, may I come in? I have urgent information!"

There was a moment of silence before her teacher opened the door, his hair slightly disheveled. She noticed that he was still wearing that mask.

"What is it?" He asked urgently.

"I finally found out who the intruder is targeting," she replied, pointing her thumb at her own bedroom door. "They were trying to get Sasuke!"


	15. A Surprise To Be Sure, And An Unwelcome One

Sasuke sat in Sakura's bed, holding her hand between them.

"It's okay," he mumbled. He was so close he could smell her hair. Still smelled like apple shampoo. It took a lot of restraint to not take a whiff. Instead, he rested his head against the wall. "Yamanaka is fine."

"You say that, but tonight she seemed so shaken up." Sakura shook her head in dismay. "We usually text and call each other, but... lately, she's cried so much. I feel so bad that I can't be with her."

He sighed, a long drawn-out movement that moved his whole upper body.

She closed her eyes in a grimace and hid her face in his shoulder. His heartbeat was soothing, even though it had picked up speed a little bit.

Neither of them said a word for a few moments.

Sasuke felt his heart picking up, but he shoved down the thoughts. His inner voice was screaming at him, _"Do it! Tell her now!"_

"Sakura."

She hummed in reply.

"I..." He faltered for a moment, but after he took a deep breath, he continued. "I... I haven't apologized."

"For what?" She lifted her head off of his arm to look him, quizzically, in the eyes.

He looked away, his pale skin seeming to redden a little having to explain himself. "When... when you tripped..."

"Oh." She nodded when she understood, lifting a hand to touch her ribs. "What about it?"

"I'm sorry," he said, finally looking up into her viridian eyes. "I wasn't paying attention when they insulted you. I didn't mean to call you any names."

She mulled it over for a minute. Finally, she gave him a smile. "Apology accepted. I'm sorry I was such a jerk to you."

"That's incorrect," he muttered in protest as she lay her head on his chest.

"Whatever," she replied with a wider grin. "That's in the past."

The two sat there for a long time, just basking in each other's warmth.

Sakura felt her pulse pick up when one of his hands brushed across her shoulders. _"This fluttering in my chest, my stomach doing flips, my thoughts full of him... I didn't want to admit it before, but... I- I love with him."_

Her inner voice laughed at her. _"Ironic... I hated his guts when we first got here a few days ago, and yet... I've gotten this crush so quickly. But now, I... genuinely don't think I can stop."_

Sasuke closed his eyes, focusing on her gentle warmth. Her soft, long pink hair felt like silk under his fingers. _"I understand what it's like to love someone... I love Mother, and I guess I_ love _Itachi too, but... this feels... different. Is this what romantic feelings feel like?"_

His fingers brushed gingerly through her long hair. _"Annoying, yet... I don't hate it,"_ he thought, his lips curving upward almost invisibly. _"Just like her. Tch, I suppose it doesn't feel that bad."_

The two slowly moved toward a more horizontal position, still embraced loosely together.

The sound of his heartbeat was lulling her to sleep slowly, and he couldn't help but feel protective holding her so close.

 _"I don't want this feeling to stop,"_ they thought in unison as they drifted into slumber.

* * *

Sometime during the night, Sasuke was awoken by a quiet tapping at the window.

The boy was naturally a pretty light sleeper, so there was no surprise when he rose his head off of the pillow and stared at where the window was, right above her bed.

He paused for a few moments, waiting for something.

...

...

... There it was!

Another tapping came, as if someone were trying to slowly break the window open.

He glanced from Sakura, to the window, to Sakura again. Dare he...?

He'd had short conversations with her friend Ino about her in his quest to find out more about her without embarrassing himself in front of her. One of the things she'd stressed more than once was that he never wake her up for anything less than an emergency.

She'd mentioned an incident involving her getting revenge by rigging a sand pail with cold water to be dumped on Ino's head after the blonde had awoken her because of something silly or other. He knew what she was capable of doing.

Yet...

He gently shook her. "Sakura, wake up."

She moved slightly.

He whispered in her ear now, "Sakura, wake up."

Her eyelashes looked to be fluttering now.

He took it a step closer and breathed across her ear, " _Sa-ku-ra_ , wake up."

She shivered for a split second, and then her eyelids slowly cracked open.

"Sasuke?" She croaked quietly with a confused frown. "What're you doing so early in the mornin'...?"

He shushed her by pressing a finger to his mouth, gesturing to the window with his eyes.

"The intruder is outside your window," he explained as quietly as he could. "I need you to get a look at them."

Her eyes went wide now, as any trace of sleep seemed to suddenly disappear. She grew serious, giving him a nod. She motioned for him to hide under the covers, and slowly, her fingers crept towards the curtains.

Finally, she ripped them open, only to find a shadow of a hand with a rock.

Her throat seemed to constrict in the panic that was now overtaking her body. She quickly shut the curtains, making a mental note of what the hand looked like.

"Sasuke, go tell Kakashi-sensei!" She whisper-shouted. "I saw their hand!"

He nodded and got up, speedwalking towards the door.

When he brought their teacher back, she pointed towards the window.

She flung the curtains open again, only to find two hands on the sill outside. Only the faintest light revealed something like bandages across their knuckles and fingers.

Kakashi rose an eyebrow. "Wait here. I'll go see if I can find them."

Both of them gave each other concerned looks, but ultimately assented.

...

* * *

He was gone maybe five or ten minutes, and both were getting worried.

They were startled when Naruto walked into her room sleepily, yawning. He was so quiet, they almost didn't hear his footsteps.

"Whaz goin' on?" He mumbled.

Both of them shushed him audibly, making his eyes open wider.

"The kidnapper is right outside!" Sakura mouthed. "Be quiet!"

He nodded frantically and clasped a hand over his mouth.

...

Eventually, Sasuke perked up.

"I hear shouting," he said lowly, "wait here."

"No!" Sakura whisper-shouted, grabbing his arm. "You can't go out there! He's after you!"

"I'll go," Naruto's voice was scarely louder than a mumble, his cerulean eyes determined.

Sasuke glared at him, but one more tug from the girl made him sigh soundlessly, slumping back against the wall.

Sakura sent him a desperate look. "Be very careful, Naruto."

The blond nodded in reply, turning and exiting her room almost as soundlessly as Kakashi.

Sakura finally seemed to melt against the wall in exhaustion. Her hands trembled as she buried her face in them, trying to stop the tears she knew were coming.

Sasuke looked over at her, his eyebrows raised a bit when he saw her back begin to shudder. He hesitated for a moment.

 _"Should I really...?"_ He thought to himself, guilt washing over him as he saw her face begin to burn red. Her shuddering grew worse, and he managed to catch a glimpse of a trail of moisture snake down the side of her cheek. _"C'mon, you don't want her to start crying now. Besides, you've slept in her bed for three nights!"_

Sakura tried her hardest to muffle the sobs escaping her. She made a tiny whimpering noise in her attempts, one that caused her mind to scream at her. _"What the heck are you doing?! Sasuke and the kidnapper are_ right there _!"_

 _"Shit, you don't want her to cry!"_ Sasuke frowned to himself. _"She's terrified of robbers, remember?"_

When she made that strange whimpering noise again, he made up his mind. Slowly, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. He pulled her so that she was nearly in his lap, causing her to look up, startled.

"S-Sas-" She tried to whisper, but he covered her mouth.

"Shh," he breathed. "Try to go back to sleep."

Her face was still a burning red, but she nodded her head slightly, resting her head against his stomach and closing her eyes. Her trembling hand reached for something, and she found Sasuke's, lacing her fingers between his and gripping tightly.

* * *

Kakashi panted, wiping his mouth. The bastard had actually landed a hit on him!

When Naruto stepped off the porch, a determined, angry look in his eyes, Kakashi's own widened.

"Naruto, what are you doing out here?" He asked, barely sparing him a glance. "Go back inside, stay with the others!"

"No, I'm not gonna let anything happen to you." The boy cracked his knuckles, sending their opponent a withering look. "Sakura-chan's staying with him. They'll be fine."

The gray-haired man sighed deeply. "You're probably not going to leave no matter what I say, are you?"

With that, and a smug nod from the boy, he rolled his eye and beckoned him closer. "Well, c'mon. Let's see if we can't unmask this guy."

The 'guy' in question had their face hidden by a mask resembling a cartoon mummy, the wrappings ridiculously covering all but one of their eyes.

"Still hasn't spoken yet," Kakashi commented as he stared his opponent down. "he knows I know that once he does, it'll give him away."

"Well, what are we just standing here for?" Naruto demanded.

Kakashi's eye crinkled, although it wasn't in the kind, patient smile he usually donned around his students. Naruto could barely make out the outline of his lips underneath the mask, but by the way the rest of his face looked, he supposed that Kakashi was pulling a rather creepy grin.

"Oh, you'll see," he waved the question off dismissively.

Once he'd finished speaking, the culprit took a step backward into the shadows near the house.

Naruto narrowed his eyes. It was hard to predict what he'd be doing, but if it came right down to it, he could probably guess a fair bit of it.

It was hard trying to play dumb in spots like this. Dammit, where was the action? It was much easier letting your fists do the talking, in his own humble opinion.

Kakashi stuffed his hands in his pockets and took a tiny step forward.

The culprit took another step back.

The grin on his face widened.

Once Naruto took a step towards the culprit, he suddenly twitched, moving to whirl around and take off.

A metallic sheen in the moonlight was all they saw before they heard a dull 'clang' and the groan and thud of a person hitting the ground.

Naruto blinked. "Wh- wha-"

Kakashi began strolling nonchalantly towards the culprit's unconscious form with a low whistle.

"Frying pans," a new voice chuckled, "who knew, right?"


	16. Early-Morning Tea

As soon as Kakashi reached the head of the body on the ground, none other than Asuma-sensei made himself known with a grin and a frying pan.

As all three males peered at the body from above, Naruto asked, "Soooo... what do we do with him?"

"Question him, of course," Kakashi answered smoothly. "Thanks for being backup, Asuma."

"No problem. I wanted to catch this sick man just as much as you do." Asuma sent a mini-glare at the unconscious person and kicked at their boot. "Here, gimme a hand."

Naruto watched as the two adults lifted the person, Kakashi at the head, Asuma at the feet. Before they left, Kakashi looked over his shoulder at Naruto.

"You can go back inside," he said. "We have this under control from here."

Naruto wanted to argue, but something about the look in his teacher's eye made him stop before he could open his mouth.

He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Okay, I'll go."

The gray-haired man shifted his grip, reaching down to pat the blond's head. "Go tell Sasuke and Sakura to go back to bed, if they aren't asleep."

Naruto nodded without another word and turned, heading back into the cabin.

He went straight for Sakura's room and paused at the door.

He peeked inside, seeing Sasuke sitting, half-lidded eyes watching the ceiling, with Sakura looking asleep on his torso. Dried tear tracks were on her cheeks.

He felt something short of envy begin to bloom in his chest. _"No matter what happens, bastard's not the right one for her. He's done nothing but hurt her since we got here!_ I _should be the one she goes to!"_

Still, he tried to shake the thoughts away and opened the door. That caught Sasuke's attention, as the noiret blinked, staring at his blond roommate.

"Kakashi-sensei handled whoever was trying to break in," he explained in a hushed voice. "I think he's gonna interrogate him. He told me to tell you to go back to bed."

Sasuke thought it over in his sleep-muddled mind. He slowly nodded.

With that, and another fleeting look at the sleeping pinkette, Naruto turned and trudged, somewhat disappointed, back to Kakashi's room.

* * *

"Run!" Voices screamed all around him, churning in a cacophony of terror.

He whirled around, seeing many faceless children running away from something in the forest.

Something about this dream seemed familiar, something that turned his stomach inside-out.

"Run! Run!" They kept chanting in dissonance.

Suddenly, he heard Sakura's voice. "Sasuke!"

"Sakura!" He yelled, his head whipping around so fast he almost got whiplash. "Where are you?"

"Sasuke, help!" She cried out, arms thrust ahead of herself as she raced toward him.

Her pretty face was twisted in abject horror, something like bright ruby blood staining her lips. Her normally-slightly-tanned skin was colored with gross black and blue and green, one of her eyes half-lidded with what looked strikingly like shadows on her upper lid. Black eye, and a nasty one at that. His stomach twisted.

He gaped at her. "Sakura!"

She spotted him and cried with relief, throwing herself at him. Her hand clasped in his tightly as she hugged him. Something... something was familiar, but... not...

"I'm so glad you're safe," she sobbed into his chest. "You have to hurry! He'll get you!"

"Who's 'he'?" He questioned, holding her at arms-length to scrutinize the worst of her injuries. "And who did this to you?"

Suddenly, she gasped. A horrible sound like gunshots echoed through the forest, ones that made his ears ring and her tug at his hand.

"C'mon!" She pleaded. "We need to run!"

He looked at something behind her; darkness churned and groaned. He nodded and took off in a sprint with her hand in his.

The ground began to shake, sending a few to their knees. Sakura stumbled and fell to the ground, right on her chest. She began to cough and hack, more of the angry red liquid staining the dirt. When she pulled her head up to gaze him dizzily in the eye, her nose was dripping with blood. Her eyes were impossibly glassy, something he hadn't seen since-

"Sasuke," she panted quietly, "go on without me."

"What? No!" He clenched his fists, sending her a glare. A cold seed of fear began to pulsate through his body. _"She normally isn't this quick to give up! What's going on...?!"_

" _Please_ ," her voice was quiet and reserved. She struggled to reach for him. "I'm done for. There's nothing we can do."

"C'mon, there's gotta be another way." He shook his head, as if to distract himself from the truth - and the tears building up in his throat. He tried to yank her up, but all she did was give a weak cry of pain. He let go and knelt beside her. The lump got larger, and his vision was beginning to blur the slightest bit. His hands were shaking, just like they were on that day. Dammit, you are _not_ going to weaken now...!

"What are you doing, idiot..." she laughed weakly, pausing to cough. "He wants you, don't you get it? _You're_ the target. Naruto's already... I have a feeling he's already lost, if he's this close..."

"Uzumaki?" His last name tumbled out in surprise. "Where's Kakashi?"

"Dead," was her only reply. Her eyes fluttered shut and her head dropped. "Save yourself..."

"No." He ground out, shaking her. A trail of moisture slowly trickled down his cheek. " _No_. Sakura, come on. Please. Get up."

When she didn't reply, or move at all, he yelled, panic shocking his system like being thrown into a cold lake.

"Sakura, wake up!"

Something hissed, a deep sound that sped past him like wind. Her skin was ice cold.

"Sakura!"

He didn't pay enough attention to the advancing shadows. _Corpse. But for how long...?_

" _Sakura_!"

* * *

The next morning, Naruto woke up to a near-silent cabin. He glanced towards the side of the bed that Kakashi had been sleeping in, only to find it neat. Despite the mess of the covers on Naruto's side, the other side had still remained somewhat neatly-folded under the pillow. It was like the man never came to bed the night before, which was vaguely concerning.

He yawned widely, stretching his arms above his head. He reached underneath his shirt to scratch at his back.

He got out of bed pretty quickly once he heard something like low voices in the kitchen, not wanting to be left out of anything (and more than willing to intervene if the teme tried anything with Sakura-chan, not that he'd ever tell).

He exited the room after getting dressed in some casual clothing.

"Morning, Sakura-chan!" He greeted cheerfully.

Said girl was sitting at the table, her hand on Sasuke's, much to the displeasure of the blond. She gave him a weak smile, though the shadows clinging to her face and accentuating the bags under her eyelids made her look desolate.

"Good morning, Naruto," she quietly replied.

Sasuke looked up at him, an uncharacteristic blank countenance stunning him. Other than the skin around his eyes tinged red among the heavy dark bags underneath, he was white as freshly-washed sheets. Dare he say it, Sasuke looked almost _scared_.

He must've been ready to voice his confusion, because Sakura shook her head slowly.

"I doubt we want to talk about that so early in the morning," she offered with a glance out the window.

Naruto followed her eyes and breathed in sharply. Indeed, it was still pretty dark outside, although the hints of a sunrise were barely visible on the horizon.

He turned back to his teammates only to see Sakura take the mug that Sasuke had been sitting with. She went into the kitchen, pouring some liquid from a kettle. Ah... chamomile tea.

He nodded in understanding before he could stop himself. So that's what it was. The way he seemed to search for her when she got up, the way he curled in on himself when he thought no one was looking, the haunted look in his black onyx eyes... He recalled Sakura telling him once in passing conversation that her father always gave her chamomile whenever she had nightmares, and had done so since she was young.

"Mostly due to the flashbacks," she'd noted, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

He began to feel something strange when he looked at the other boy. It was obvious now, and he hated the fact that he'd been so jealous.

He slowly sat down on the other side of the noiret, hesitating, but finally placing a hand on his back.

The Uchiha must've not been expecting it, because he flinched.

"Look, Sasuke," he took care to lower his voice as he spoke. Sasuke shifted, but Naruto could see his eyes, although they were closed, when he looked in the gaps between his face and his arms. "I... I know how you feel."

The boy shifted again, only this time, he was staring right at Naruto, a frown beginning to appear.

"The nightmares," he said quickly before the boy had a chance to rebut, "I get them too. Maybe not for the same reasons, but they happen."

He paused for a few moments as Sakura sat the cup back on the table. The steam rose lazily from the tea, its smell pleasant and earthy.

Sasuke lifted his head, grabbing the cup. He avoided eye-contact as he sipped the liquid.

Sakura sat next to him, gently wrapping her hands around his left arm.

"Nightmare?" Naruto mouthed to her.

She nodded, a grim expression on her face. "Horrible," she mouthed back.

He sighed.

Sakura tucked one of his impossibly-black hairs behind his ear. "I know I've already told you this, but I get them too. And so does Naruto."

The two shared a look as Sasuke put the cup down. He seemed to lean into her touch, even unconsciously.

"Of course, mine are about getting robbed, or my parents dying because of a robber, but..." she trailed off and looked at Naruto.

"And I..." he licked his lips, an uneasy feeling settling over his stomach. "I... when my dad was still mayor, I was kidnapped. I was too young to remember very much, but... I still have horrible dreams about it."

Sasuke spared him a glance, one so lost, so _broken_ , that his heart clenched. He looked so much younger and vulnerable than he was, and it was a hard thing for Naruto to see. It was so terribly unnerving to see him set all of his emotions out on the table that he almost wanted Sasuke to go back to insulting him.

"We're here if you want to talk more about it," Sakura added, pressing her fingers into his mildly-trembling palms.

He grasped them almost immediately, his grip tight, as if she would fade away if he let go.

The two sat there with him at the kitchen table for a long while. When he took the last few sips of his tea, it was cold, and he looked like he would fall back asleep soon.

"I'll go put it in the sink," Naruto volunteered before he thought too much about it. He got up and took the cup, walking into the kitchen.

His ears picked up Sakura's soft voice mumbling something to the boy, and for the first time since waking, he heard Sasuke talk.

His voice was rough, as if he'd been crying. The tea, thankfully, must've quenched any dryness he'd had before.

For the first time in the entire week, Naruto didn't feel quite so jealous of the emotionally-distant Uchiha boy.

For the first time since meeting him, he felt a sense of camaraderie with his rival.


	17. Sleepy Morning

Thankfully, the rest of the night proved to be without incident. Sakura woke up to Sasuke holding her tightly against him, his legs wrapped around hers - kind of like a body pillow, only less creepy.

She looked into his sleeping face, still somewhat disturbed from the night before, but at least this time he looked somewhat peaceful. His lips were parted slightly, his eyes relaxed.

She smiled at the sight before trying to break free of his grip. She first tried slowly slithering out of it, but when he only increased his hold, she stopped.

 _"Shoot. What would Naruto do in this situation?"_ She asked herself desperately.

An image of an enraged Naruto smacking him away filled her brain for a split-second, and she immediately chased it off. As unusual as it was to wake up to someone sleep-cuddling you like their favorite teddy bear, she was _not_ going to disturb his sleep by waking him up via hitting him. Now, if it were Naruto being perverted...

She finally resolved to lying there until he let go. She wiggled her arms free and wrapped them around his neck, burying her face in his hair.

Yeah, it was weird, yeah, he would probably freak out when he woke up, yeah, if anyone else was seeing this they'd start screaming, but at the moment, she didn't care.

 _"Besides,"_ she thought with a fluttering in her stomach when he mumbled something and hugged her closer, _"I want to keep him as happy as I can."_

 _"I love him,"_ She told herself. An almost giddy happiness spread across her body like waves. She hadn't felt this kind of childish joy since the last time she'd crushed on a guy... and she remembered how that had ended.

Even though the boy had grated her nerves with his annoyingly-cold attitude towards them, she could tell that after a while, at least she and Naruto had done some good in melting him.

He was growing softer towards them. Even if he never admitted it, she noticed the proud smile he gave Naruto when the blond managed to hit a perfect bulls-eye. Of course, he hid it with a hum of indifference, but she knew. She only had to look into his eyes to see what he tried so hard to hide.

Kakashi had nudged her quite a few times about his feelings toward her. She would have to be the densest person on the planet to not note the way he was more gentle with her than with anyone else. The only female person who ever came close to making him act soft was his mother, from what she'd managed to glean from their teacher. Not as much of a 'mama's boy' as his brother, apparently, yet it was still really... really cute?? And apparently he had unresolved issues with his father, but then again, what cool protagonist-type didn't?

She'd noted the way he tended to stare at her longer than others, and if she managed to catch him in the act, he'd look away, but she could swear she detected a hint of pink in his face. Girl-shy, indeed. It only served to add to the attractive factor that seemed to be omnipresent.

No matter what he felt around her, he'd managed to get her heart. She felt inclined to protect him, especially from that stupid snake, or whatever was trying to freak them out.

_"I love him. He may be a pompous jerk, but he's our pompous jerk."_

* * *

Sasuke woke up to something unbelievably warm and sweet-smelling snuggled up to him. At first, he thought nothing of it, but when he thought about it some more, he realized.

_"Wait a minute. I don't sleep with anyone."_

He slowly opened his eyes, only to find his face in the crook of someone's neck. Said person breathed in and out slowly, so he guessed they were still asleep.

Momentary panic set in. _"Oh shit, did I-?! I'm too young for-- for this! Mother won't even be asking until I graduate high school! ... if I'm lucky!"_

Then he took a whiff of the scent. It was some sort of evanescent sweetness, something that pegged him as quite familiar, although he couldn't quite place it.

Something pink fluttered into his vision.

_"Oh."_

He realized that it was Sakura he heard sighing lightly.

_"Ohhhhhh."_

Somehow, he surmised, he must have grabbed her in his sleep. Well, at least that explained the pleasant reprieve from his original nightmare.

Her arms had been wrapped around his neck, almost as if she'd realized halfway through the night that they were entangled. It was kind of uncomfortable for her elbow to be digging into his nape like that, but who was he to wake her when she was finally asleep again? (That, and he really, really, really appreciated not being on the receiving end of any revenge tactics she might think up. He shuddered when he remembered Ino's horror story about the girl hiding her mascara in the freezer for fifteen minutes before she woke up. He very much wanted to avoid her thinking of doing the same to his spendy facewash or cologne.)

He loosened his grip some and instead studied her face.

Her eyelids weren't swollen and littered with any blues, or purples, thankfully, and she looked very relaxed. He even thought that her mouth was upturned into a slight smile.

 _"Must be nice,"_ he thought for a moment. _"I can't remember the last time I had such a nice dream."_

Had she been anyone else, he would've immediately pushed her away regardless of whether she woke up or not, but somehow she just kept growing on him.

Like vines creeping up the side of a building, she seemed to keep worming her way into his heart. It was annoying at first, but now...

He breathed in another lungful of her scents. She must've woken up during the night and washed her face or something, because she smelled like sweet cucumber.

He smiled, burying his face in her pajama shirt again. Now, her presence was a welcome one, a calming one. It seemed like she knew just what to do to relax him, even when Naruto was yelling something stupid at him to provoke him.

Out of everyone, the one girl with the weird pink hair had to go and make him her - at first - _unwilling_ friend. Now he realized that maybe, just maybe, he didn't mind it so much.

* * *

Naruto woke up with Kakashi moving through the room. His eyelids opened only enough to where he could look at his teacher without him knowing.

Unfortunately, he wasn't unmasked. The blond fought back the disappointment and instead decided to let him know that he was awake by sitting up and yawning.

"Oh, good morning." Kakashi's visible eye crinkled into a smile. "I checked on the other two, and it looks like we're the only two awake."

 _"Hell yeah, we beat Sasuke!"_ Naruto thought with victory.

He gave the gray-haired adult a big grin. "What didja find out last night?"

That's when his teacher's pleasant face fell, and he turned to fully face the boy.

"We... we questioned him thoroughly, but we couldn't find anything." He sounded quite frustrated, even as he held an indifferent expression. "We may have gotten the wrong person after all."

"That sucks," Naruto sighed harshly. "Well, we'll just have to go looking for the other one!"

"I don't think that's the best idea." Kakashi shook his head. "You kids won't be safe in the forest. Just leave the looking to us."

While Naruto spluttered 'but's and 'that's not fair's, Kakashi ignored him and focused on looking through his pack. It looked like everything was there.

* * *

The group convened in the kitchen later in the morning. Sakura chirped a 'morning' to their teacher as she grabbed a plate from the cupboard.

Sasuke gave Naruto a nod of acknowledgement, and the boy grinned in return.

"So what's the plan?" Sasuke asked monotonously.

"Well," Kakashi paused after taking a sip of coffee, "I was hoping to begin training you three on some basic self-defense exercises."

Before Naruto could begin protesting, he continued, "And yes, I know that some of you have had lessons before. These are a little different."

"I'm certainly ready." Sakura came back to the table with a plate of eggs, bacon, and toast. She smiled determinedly. "Anything to make rescuing Hinata easier."


	18. Neji Has Feelings

It was a long morning filled with different exercises. Due to the camp's theme, Kakashi taught them how to take hold of their 'chakra' and do different techniques - called 'jutsus' - to successfully disarm or even harm their opponent.

The three kids grasped them quickly. Due to their intelligence, they quickly caught on and even began to emulate some of the more difficult moves before lunch had even come.

Kakashi, although sweaty and tired, smiled with pride at his three charges practicing their moves on each other. Sasuke and Naruto, of course, were more rough with each other than they were with Sakura -- but the girl kept up pretty well, having the stamina to get back up after being thrown to the ground five times by Naruto and getting a medium-strength punch to the back of the head by Sasuke. (The boy was quick to pull her up and grab his water bottle to cool where he'd hit, in apology, with Naruto shouting all the while.)

"Had enough?" He asked, chuckling when they turned to him with a glare, chorusing "No!"

Ah, they were such cute kids. It almost served to distract him from the manner at hand, the reason for all of this advanced self-defense training.

* * *

Lunchtime had come. After a couple of accidents with wires (Sakura maintains the stance that she totally didn't mean to trip up their teacher into a thorny patch of berries to get a glimpse of his face), they decided to call it quits and get washed up - or, in their teacher's case, get Shizune's help in picking out the thorns. Sakura had promised him a slice of pizza from their cooking lessons that day in return, one that he was definitely holding her to.

Sasuke exhaled quietly as he leaned against the wall behind himself, focusing his eyes on the ceiling. The boys around him made quiet small-talk, and for once, Naruto seemed to focus intently on something rather than rambling. Fitting, because tensions were at an all-time high.

He glanced to his left to see Neji staring at his food, his shoulders bunched up.

"What's on your mind?" He asked, and the brunet flinched.

"What do you care?" Neji retorted, sending him a half-hearted glare and taking a bite of food.

"You're more morose than usual," Sasuke replied, trying his best to keep his temper in check. "Just need to make sure that you're not deteriorating in skills so that when we go toe-to-toe, it'll be considered a fair match."

"Piss off, Uchiha." Neji finally growled, making a couple of other occupants pause in conversation. "I don't believe my well-being is any of your business. Leave me, or you'll have more to worry about than having just a pretty face."

Sasuke's nose scrunched up and he returned the glare full-force. Out of everyone at the table, of course _he_ would pull that card. Damn Hyuuga. He knew Sasuke was sensitive about his looks.

"Look, if you're going to be an asshole about it, then fine." Sasuke waved it off. "But something's bothering you, and it'll end up impacting your performance if you don't spit it out."

Neji rolled his eyes and turned to continue eating for a few moments.

When he'd cleaned every last bit of rice from his plate, he stood up, grabbing his tray.

"I'll give you one last chance to leave it be," was his icy warning as he walked away.

Sasuke glanced over at Naruto, only to find the blond motioning for him to go after the emotional rival. He heaved an irritated sigh and followed him to the tray station.

Neji was daintily putting away his teacup and muttering a 'thank you' to the dish lady when he got there. The boy knew he was there, but he put his tray away with a forced air of calmness.

Out of the blue, he swung a punch at the boy, to which Sasuke caught it with one hand.

"I warned you," he said simply. He finally turned to stare at Sasuke, yanking his hand back and folding his arms across his chest. "Why do you insist on bugging me?"

"You're acting off." Sasuke answered in a deadpan tone. "After everything that's happened here - teachers, students going missing - it would be an injustice to leave your problem unsolved."

Neji paused, mulled over his words, and sniffed suspiciously. "My eyes must be deteriorating much faster than my family thinks if I see Uchiha Sasuke trying to apologize to me."

Sasuke grit his teeth. "You're not making it easy, yourself, _Bishounen_."

"Who's the pretty one, now?" Neji's eyes flashed dangerously as he stepped closer.

"The one with the long, feminine hair," Sasuke countered.

He barely managed to dodge another fist from Neji as the boy snarled, "I'll have you know that Hyuuga hair length is a sacred tradition among the men! How _dare_ you deride my heritage!"

"And I'll have you know that I just _happen_ to look like this," Sasuke sneered. "Literally everyone in my family is hot; that's not my problem!"

 _"Well, it kind of is,"_ he admitted to himself, _"but that's not the focus right now!"_

He finally forced Neji's arm down, to which he grit his teeth in pain.

"What would Hinata say?" Sasuke chastised. "She's always the one trying to get you to stop being such an emo bastard."

Neji growled, ripping his arm away. "Fine! If you want to know, then fine! I'm worried about her, okay?"

 _"Geez... was that so hard to spit out?"_ Sasuke sweatdropped.

"She's my... admittedly, she's one of my only friends in my family, despite our parentage and, well, her being female." Neji confessed, his shoulders drooping. "Not even my uncle treats me like she does. I've long sworn it off as a parental issue, but... but how could a monster of a man raise a daughter like her?"

Sasuke guided him to a secluded table in the corner and gestured with his eyes to Naruto.

The blond, thankfully, got the memo and rose from his spot, grabbing his tray to put it away.

"She's so fragile." Neji actually looked like he was on the brink of some deep despair as he spoke, hiding his face in his hands. "She won't last a week with some psycho in camp. I fear they've already disposed of her."

Sasuke's fingers tightened into fists. While he was never close with Neji - their whole 'family rivalry' and all that - he'd hung out with Hinata a few times, and he had to agree. That girl was practically sweetness personified... once you got past the crippling anxiety and shrinking-violet tendencies, that was.

"What will Father say? What will _Uncle_ say?" Neji asked himself quietly. "I promised both that I would look after her, but... but I truly fear their response to the news more than I hate myself for letting her get taken."

"Don't sweat it, Neji!" Thankfully -- or perhaps unfortunately -- for Sasuke, Naruto had arrived - bright, beaming smile and all.

He was honestly worried about what he would have to say to comfort the boy. He was still trying to figure out his own feelings about everything happening; how would he be expected to console someone who'd lost their cousin? Not to mention Naruto's chronic case of blabbermouth at the wrong time.

Neji looked up, blinking, as Naruto continued.

"Hinata-chan's a real cool person, and I'm sure she's doing fine!" He continued, leaning against the table. "We're worried about her too, but don't you think you should try putting some faith in her abilities first?"

"Her... abilities?" Neji asked dumbly, staring at the boy.

"Yeah!" Naruto nodded. "I've seen her training with Kurenai-sensei, and she's gotten really good! Before you write off her chances of living, don't you think you should keep in mind just how good she is? She'll have 'em begging for mercy before we rescue her, 'ttebayo!"

Both boys stood there silently, thinking about what Naruto had just said. Said blond continued to smile, giving his tray and dishes to the dishwashing lady, giving her a cheery "Thank you!"

Finally, Neji nodded slowly. "Yes... yes, that's right. I'll have to try harder to remember that. Thank you, Naruto."

He walked out of the dining hall, shutting the door gently behind himself.

Sasuke put a hand on his shoulder, catching his attention again. "Y'know, for an idiot, you really know the right thing to say."

For a moment, Naruto scowled at him. But after a second, he chuckled, putting an arm around the Uchiha's shoulder. "I'm not a total moron, you know. If I can't lift everyone's spirits in crisis like this, how will I ever be good enough to take over as mayor of Konoha someday?"


	19. Life (feat. Finding Gaara)

Sakura kicked a pebble away from the bench, staring at the water.

Ino had been talking about random things, and she'd almost tuned her out. Not that she didn't like hearing her friend's voice, but everything that had been happening was so stressing for her, she just found herself drifting.

Her attention was caught when Ino started mentioning the intruder.

"Oh, yeah, I got a call from my dad today." She said. "They've got the blood sample, but so far, it doesn't seem like it's gonna match anyone in the database. The guy was interrogated pretty thoroughly, but they've got nothin' so far."

"That really sucks," Sakura replied, heaving a heavy sigh. "It'd be nice to know just who the hell is behind these raids."

"Yeah." Ino leaned in to the group of three, lowering her voice. "To be honest with you, though, I think we've got the wrong guy."

"How come?" Tenten asked, raising an eyebrow.

She gave a loose shrug, leaning back. "I don't know. Hunch."

The three sighed, but other than the sound of the water they didn't say much else for a bit.

"Yeah..." The blonde gazed out at the water, a frown on her face. "You know, if you'd told me that if I went to camp this year that all of this would happen, I'd have laughed."

"It really doesn't seem like something that would happen at such a nice camp, does it?" Tenten chimed in with a quiet laugh. "Shoot, when Lee told me about it, I thought that it was pretty weird that such an expensive summer camp would have a good ol' Joe Shmoe horror subplot to it. This seriously feels like something that should happen at, like, a Camp Diamond Lake, or something. Not with a bunch of rich kids."

"At least Lee thinks of you as his sister," Sakura said with a soft smile. "I think it's cute how he's taken to you."

"You really think so?" The brunette asked. "I mean, he's great and all, but he's just got so much energy. Living with him is like living with a drill sergeant, but without the nasty attitude. Really, who in their right mind gets up at five-thirty on a _Saturday_?"

"At least you _have_ a brother," Ino muttered to herself. "If I had an older sibling, then maybe I could take Mom's flower business."

"At least your parents can afford camp," Sakura chimed in with a light sigh. "Had it not been for Tsunade, I probably wouldn't even be here right now."

"You're that poor?" Ino asked in shock. "Damn, I always thought you were in the middle somewhere."

"Not quite middle class, not quite poor." Sakura shrugged. "We're somewhere in that range. Thankfully, if my dad gets the promotion from Uchiha Corp, we'll be able to get more money in."

"Yikes, sorry man." Tenten winced, patting her shoulder. "I know that feel, though. Orphanages suck, especially when you were poor before going into one."

The blonde shifted in her spot. "Kinda weird to think that my friends are lower middle-class. I always assumed you were fairly okay. At least, your parents always make it seem like you have money."

"Believe me, if we did, we wouldn't be living in a cheap two bedroom one bathroom apartment." The pinkette shivered. "We had a rat problem a couple of years ago, and ever since I haven't been able to look at the freezer the same way."

Tenten grimaced in disgust. " _Dude_."

"Way worse than it sounds." Sakura mirrored her look, mimicking a gag. "Poor Mom had to find a severed head after Dad pulled out a half-rat ice cube."

At that moment, Temari, the girl from earlier, came walking by.

"Hey, you're the girl from Cabin 12, right?" Ino called. "Temari?"

"Yeah, that's me." The older girl seemed kind of stressed, but she put on a smile and walked over. "What'cha doing?"

"Just sitting here, talking about life," Tenten answered. "How'd you get here to Camp Shinobi?"

"Oh, well, my parents decided to move to Konoha for a job change, and so they sent my little brothers and I here while they finish unpacking." She explained, sitting on a stump. "Speaking of my brothers, I haven't been able to find them. You seen them anywhere?"

"What do they look like?" Sakura asked.

"Well, I guess the easiest to spot would be my youngest brother, Gaara." Temari looked around with a frown. "He's got super red hair, and it looks like he's wearing tons of black eyeliner, but don't be fooled, he always looks like that. Just dark circles."

"Ah, another insomniac, I see." Tenten nodded solemnly. "Well, what's the other one look like?"

"Kankuro looks like he's wearing a hood with cat ears all the time, and he's the one who wears purple facepaint." She wrinkled her nose. "Gaara gets a pass, but _Kankuro_? Nah, he wears more makeup than I do."

"Makeup geek, I see." Ino muttered. Then she snapped her fingers, exclaiming, "Actually, I think I have seen them around! When I was walking over here, I stopped some guy with real dark eyes near the plaza about what brand of makeup he used. Turns out, he wears dollar store Wet n' Wild makeup! Wet n' Wild? Are you _kidding_?! Everyone knows Morphe is where it's at-"

"Aaaanyways," Sakura cut in over her friend's rambling, "Maybe we can start in the plaza and go from there."

"Sounds good." Temari nodded stiffly, not even flinching when Ino wailed, "AND THEY'RE NOT EVEN WORTH THE PRICE!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember when I said this would probably be done mid-2020? LOL.
> 
> Slipping in some puns just because I can.


	20. Lost and Found

The girls had walked back to the main plaza of the camp, but didn't see Temari's brothers anywhere. Ino had since finished ranting about failing makeup brands and was now silently sulking to herself, arms folded and bottom lip stuck out in a pout.

"Well this blows," Temari sighed, rubbing her head. "Where could they be?"

"Maybe they went down to the field or something," Tenten offered with a shrug. "Maybe they decided to train and got carried away."

"Sounds like something they'd do." Sakura nodded in agreement. "All of the boys here seem way too into this 'ninja' thing."

They decided to take the shortcut down, which was a steep drop-off about a couple of feet above the field. As they each hopped down, the sound of vicious, loud bickering reached their ears.

Immediately, Temari groaned. "Oh no."

"Who is that?" Ino asked, wrinkling her nose.

"My brothers," the other blonde replied, facepalming for a second. She proceeded to groan, "Let's go break it up before Gaara puts _another_ person in the infirmary."

The girls rose their eyebrows in surprise, but Temari kept walking, unfazed.

The girls came closer to the shouting, only to find Naruto being held back by an irate Sasuke as Kankuro seemed to be threatening them.

"What in the hell are you guys doing?" Sakura called, raising an eyebrow angrily at her teammates.

"Yeah, you two shouldn't be fighting! What would Sensei say?" Temari scolded her brothers, folding her arms across her chest.

"This punk bumped into us at the target practice and wouldn't apologize for disrespecting his elders," Kankuro answered his sister, cracking his knuckles. "I think they need a lesson in manners."

"Who're you callin' punk, you weirdo?!" Naruto shouted with a growl. "If there's anyone who needs to say sorry, it's you!"

"You would do well not to anger us," Gaara, the redhead, quietly commented. While he looked as calm as someone with permanent resting bitch-face could, the latent killing intent sent a chill running down the arms of the others present.

 _"He sounds downright murderous!"_ Ino thought to herself with a shiver. _"Geez... I would not wanna get on this guy's bad side..."_

Temari sighed harshly. "Guys, c'mon. Let's go shoot some baskets or something. Don't go harassing younger people."

Gaara simply huffed, turning to walk away with Temari close behind.

"You're lucky Temari was here," Kankuro hissed at the boys. "Next time, I'm beating your ass!"

"Kankuro!" Temari yelled from across the field.

Without another word, he turned and ran after his siblings.

"Yeah, that's right, you wimp!" Naruto shouted after him. "Go ahead and run back home!"

Sakura barely resisted the urge to slap his arm for the comment. "You're one to talk, Naruto," she instead deadpanned.

Thankfully, Kakashi took that moment to walk up to them, raising his hand in greeting. "Yo. I'm taking you kids to practice some new moves in the field today."

* * *

It had been a couple of hours, and Sakura was exhausted. Sure, she was used to most physical activity for long amounts of time, but she'd never had to practice a roundhouse kick twenty-five times in a row before.

She collapsed into the grass for a moment, brushing her bangs away from her face.

"Giving up yet?" Kakashi asked, his eyes twinkling with mischief.

"No, that's not it," she panted. "Can I use the bathroom real quick?"

"I don't see why not, you've been putting in a lot of work." Kakashi helped her up and nodded once. "Be quick."

"Quick is my second middle name, besides Danger," she teased with a brief chuckle.

As she took off for the cabin, she managed to make a glance behind, towards the opening to the forest. She'd heard tales from some of the other kids about older siblings that had played in that very forest and had gotten lost for hours. Something about it gave her a horrible feeling, and yet her insatiable curiosity berated her to sneak in and see what she could find.

She shook her head and headed up the trail, finding the cabin easily. She opened the door and headed inside.

* * *

After freshening up and replacing her sweaty shirt with a basketball jersey, she adjusted her 'hitai-ate' one final time and headed out, pausing to slam the door shut behind herself as she went.

"Let's see..." she mumbled to herself, taking a sip from her water bottle, "Jun said that there's a secret way down to the forest somewhere near the cabins..."

She searched for the patch of trees that hid an old stone staircase down to the part of the field where the forest began. Jun, the fourteen-year-old camp veteran, had claimed that a blue hitai-ate still marked the spot where it began.

Sure enough, a couple of minutes later, she found a blue forehead protector, its plate rusted (yet, surprisingly, with the leaf symbol fully visible, as if someone came by periodically and carved through the rust). Below the trunk of the thin tree was a mossy gray staircase that headed down.

She prayed that no steps were missing, and descended. It was a strange descent; it wasn't as slippery as she first thought it'd be, but pretty solid. It was weird hearing the moss and plants squish underneath her sneakers. It took about a minute of going down before she touched down on the grassy field, coincidentally hidden behind some bushes right next to the forest entrance.

"Well I'll be," she mumbled in amazement. "I'll have to get Jun an extra cookie or something during dinner."

She looked around once, twice, just to make sure Kakashi wouldn't suddenly appear and drag her away (seriously, that man was too sneaky for his own good), before she ducked in through the opening in the trees.

The forest was less creepy than she'd first thought it would be. It was green, peaceful, and serene. She could hear the birds chirping faintly, and she could smell the earth.

She exhaled with a small smile. "This is actually pretty cool, what do you know?"

Still, her intrigue wasn't cured. So she headed in further, following the path.

It didn't take long before she stumbled across a big log to the right of the path, next to a boulder. She frowned at it. Something didn't seem right, but she couldn't pinpoint what.

She knelt beside it, fully prepared to try and lift it off the ground, when she caught sight of something pale. Something fleshy-colored. Something... black...?!

"Oh Kami-sama, _HINATA?!_ " Sakura cried, finding the girl's head and cradling it in her hands. Luckily, she was still breathing, but she looked to be unconscious.

"I'm so sorry for this," the pinkette muttered before searching for her neck. She found it quite easily and trailed her hands down until she found the girl's shoulders, jammed quite uncomfortably in the log. It was only big enough for her to hide in, but not get out, as it seemed.

Grasping Hinata's shoulders, she jerked with a grunt, trying to dislodge her. She budged a few inches, but naught more.

She tried again, yanking the girl back. An inch more.

"Almost- there-" She gasped out. She pulled away, wiping her sweaty hands on her shorts, before reaching back in. With one final yank and a cry of surprise, she dragged Hinata out of the log, and fell backwards on her back, irritating her ribs.

"Ooh, ow, shit that _hurts_ ," she hissed, reaching up to touch her chest. She struggled upright with a drawn-out groan, only to gape in surprise at Hinata.

The girl looked like she'd fallen into a blackberry bush from a muddy slope. She was bruised all over her arms and face, her hair was tangled with leaves and twigs, and her clothes were torn and muddy. One of her wrists was suspiciously puffy-looking, and when Sakura tested it, she guessed that it was sprained.

"What the hell happened to you?" She whispered, brushing dirty black hair away from the girl's pale face. Her expression was pulled into one of pain, yet she didn't make a sound besides the occasional unconscious moan through her nose.

Sakura helped herself off the ground with another grunt, and, squatting beside the unconscious girl, tucked her arms underneath the girl's knees and around her back, adjusting the girl's left arm to hang loosely around her neck. She hoisted her up off of the ground shakily, not used to carrying around someone that likely weighed less than a hundred pounds.

She huffed, blowing a stray strand of bubblegum hair away from her face. _"Geez, you're heavy for someone so thin."_

With some difficulty, she rose up a leg to adjust her grip, and then she turned to exit the forest, nervous that whatever did this to Hinata would be coming for her next.

She kept glancing behind herself and trying to hurry, but carrying Hinata proved to be more of a challenge than she'd first thought it'd be.

 _"At least let her be awake enough to help me get her back to camp,"_ she griped in her mind.

Finally, she saw the exit and the bright grassy field, with her teammates a little ways away, looking around.

"Guys!" She yelled, catching Sasuke's attention. When she saw his head snap around, she tried to walk faster, only to trip over a root and fall forward.

She yelped, trying to save Hinata, when luckily, Kakashi appeared, helping her up.

"That was some bathroom trip," he commented, the slightest bit of disappointment in his eye. Then he noticed the girl, and his visible eye widened. "You found-"

" _HINATA!_ " Naruto screamed, racing over. "Holy shit, Sakura-chan, how did you-?!"

"Long story best saved for later, we need to get her to medical immediately!" She snapped. "I'm pretty sure her wrist is sprained, and I found her inside a log, conked."

"I'll go get Kurenai-sensei," Naruto offered. He didn't even wait for Kakashi to approve before he turned, sprinting off.

Kakashi chuckled for a moment, shaking his head. "That Naruto..."

Sasuke finally jogged over, looking concerned. "Are you hurt?"

"No, not that much," she replied. "I fell on my back, but that's it."

Sasuke frowned, but didn't push it, instead helping her carry Hinata out of the forest and into the field, where they gently lay her down on the grass near a bed of daisies.

"I'm pretty sure now is the best time to tell that 'long story' about how you found Hinata," Kakashi dryly commented, putting air quotes around 'long story'.

"Can it wait until Kurenai-sensei gets here?" She asked hopefully. "I don't wanna explain it twice."

Kakashi hummed in agreement, glancing up. "Fair enough, I suppose so. Oh, look, here she comes, better get to explaining."

The two of them looked up to see Kurenai dashing, faster than any of them had ever seen with her arms straight behind her, full-throttle towards them, her face determined. They were barely able to see Naruto struggling to catch up behind her, looking ragged already. It almost looked like a scene from that popular manga Naruto liked so much, the one with 300 chapters and growing.

"You found her?" were the first words she said upon arriving.

When Sakura nodded, she threw her arms around the girl in a tight hug.

"Oh thank you so much, Sakura," she breathed, squeezing tighter for a second before pulling away. "You found my student."

"It wasn't any trouble, ma'am," she mumbled shyly, trying to hide her red face behind her hair.

"Still, I wonder how in the world you were able to find her!" The counselor exclaimed. "We all did our rounds and not a single person was able to find her whereabouts."

Sakura took a deep breath. Sasuke reached for her, as if he was going to put a hand on her arm, but faltered, and instead focused on ripping up blades of grass near her.

"Well, it all started when I asked permission to use the restroom," she began to explain.

* * *

By the time she was finished with her story, Naruto must have already notified Neji, and he'd come down to where they were and had caught the tail-end of the tale.

"So that's what happened..." Neji sounded more relieved than she'd ever heard from him as he brushed some of Hinata's hair away from her face. "My. How awful."

"The worst part is that I have no clue what happened to her," Sakura confessed with a frown in Hinata's direction. "Who took her? How'd she get away? Why in the _hell_ did I find her in a log?"

"Still, you did a wonderful thing," Kurenai praised with a gentle smile. "You have my gratitude, Sakura."

"You have the gratitude of the Hyuuga family, as well," Neji proclaimed, helping her off the ground. He stared her intensely in the eyes, so much so that she began to fidget with the end of her jersey. "If there's anything I can do in return, please, you only have to ask me."

"Th- thanks, Neji," she dumbly replied, as he nodded stiffly, his cheeks a little pink from embarrassment, and turned to help Kurenai pick up his unconscious cousin.


	21. Hero's Welcome to Lunch

After cleaning themselves up for lunch, Cabin 7 headed to the cafeteria for some good, well-deserved food.

"Boy, I'm starving!" Naruto exclaimed with a big grin. "I wonder what they'll have today! Salmon? Beef rice?"

"Hopefully something sweet," Sakura mumbled. "I'm craving some sweet dumplings."

Sasuke nodded thoughtfully before adding his own quiet, "And perhaps some stir-fry with extra roasted vegetables."

As soon as they opened the double-doors, every camper stopped and stared at them. As soon as Sakura walked in, someone stood up.

"Three cheers for Sakura!" Some kid she'd never met declared, and much to her mortified silence, just about every single camper in the dining room either started clapping or cheering raucously.

She hid her face in her hands, whimpering, "Please let me melt into a puddle right now."

Naruto laughed, clapping her on the shoulder. "C'mon, Sakura-chan, you're a hero! You'll feel better after food."

"I sure hope so," she grumbled with a sigh.

Sasuke stepped in front of her with a sharp glance. "Don't worry about them. Just get your tray."

"But--"

"We're used to it," Naruto added with a wink. "Let's go."

To her slight relief, her teammates helped shield her from everyone's stares and chatter, and as soon as they got their trays, they headed for their usual table, where Ino and a couple of others were sitting.

"Hey, there she is!" Ino chirped as soon as Sakura sat down. She gave the girl a quick side-hug before going back to her food. "I gotta say, that was impressive! Congrats on finding Hinata."

"Thanks," Sakura said, a plastic smile spreading on her face. Then she looked around. "Hey, is Neji gonna be here?"

"Nah, he's in the medical cabin." Tenten shook her head, a slight look of relief on her face. "I'm real glad you found Hinata, though. It'll sure take a load off of whatever was up his ass. He'll be a lot more chill now that she's back and getting medical attention."

"I guess I can't fault him for that," she chuckled, taking a bite of rice.

"Um, excuse me, Sakura, right?" A new girl's voice came from behind them.

Sakura turned around to see the redhead from before and another girl standing a couple of feet away.

"Yeah, that's me," she confirmed with a confused look. "Can I help you?"

"No, we're just... here to say, uh, sorry," the redhead mumbled, looking for all the world like she'd rather be anywhere but here. "For being so mean."

"Yeah, we're sorry," the other girl chimed in, biting her lip and looking elsewhere.

"Um... apology accepted?" Sakura replied, her voice rising at the end.

As the two girls turned to leave, she remembered something. "Hey, uh, Karin, right?"

The redhead turned around. "Yeah?"

"If and when we have our cabin activities, would you maybe wanna join ours?" Sakura offered with a small smile.

Karin thought about it for a moment. She looked back to where Sasuke was sitting, said boy ignoring her, and she lit up for a second before looking back to where the pinkette was waiting.

"... Sure, that sounds really fun." She finally replied, giving her a tiny smile of her own. She turned and walked away, leaving a surprised Ino.

"That was... something," the blonde offered. "As long as I've known her for, I don't think she's ever apologized for being a bitch."

"Yeah, well, heat of the moment, and all that," Sakura mumbled into her food. Then even quieter, "If Sasuke wasn't here, I doubt she would've said anything at all."

* * *

Later on, after lunch was over, Sakura decided to head over and check on Hinata.

As soon as she walked into the medical cabin, Shizune greeted her. "Oh, Sakura, what wonderful timing! Hinata woke up."

"That's great! What room?" Sakura asked eagerly.

"First one on the left," the woman directed.

As she knocked on the door, she heard a feeble "come in". She entered to see Hinata with Neji at her bedside, an IV hooked up to her arm and a cloth on her forehead.

"Hey, you're awake," the pinkette greeted. "Hey, Neji."

"Hello." He nodded, going back to absentmindedly staring out of the window, his fingers tracing patterns into one of Hinata's palms.

"How'd you feel?" Sakura asked the girl, pulling up a chair.

"I feel... rather worse for wear, but I can handle it," the girl replied with a polite smile. "Nurse Shizune says that my right wrist is sprained, and that I pulled some muscles in my legs when I was running."

"I've been meaning to ask you about that," she nodded, frowning. "How in the world did you end up in a log?"

The noirette shivered for a moment. "W- well, to be honest, I don't have much recollection of how I was kidnapped and what my kidnapper looked like. All I remember was that I awoke next to a waterfall deeper within the forest, and my hands and feet were bound with rope.

"When I was able to cut it away with a sharp rock, I ran, but... ah, I'm afraid even my eyes don't give me night vision," she tried to joke, giggling a little. "So I just ended up tripping over things and falling into bushes."

"That certainly explains why you looked like you fell into a berry bush," Sakura noted.

"Yes, I do recall that must have happened at one point," the girl nodded in agreement. "But I'm afraid that with all the excitement, I must have gotten a bit too paranoid, and thus I ended up cramming myself into a log to hide from the kidnapper. After a while, the exhaustion caught up to me, and I guess I... blacked out."

"That's it?" Sakura was slightly disappointed, yet she understood. She gazed at Hinata's pale arms, noting the prominent veins and the IV that was taped to her wrist. Her other wrist was wrapped up, and Neji was spending his time carefully tracing the outline of the bandages in her hand with a frown as he stared at the trees. "Well, I guess you've been through quite a bit in the last twenty-four hours. I don't blame you for forgetting things."

Hinata merely bobbed her head.

Feeling a bit awkward, the pinkette stood from her chair, stretching and yawning. "Well, I might as well go take a nap. Heal quickly, Hinata. I'm definitely sure Naruto won't want you missing out on the camp activities when they happen."

At her joke, Neji seemed to clue in on the conversation, and he turned from the window to stare at her curiously while Hinata giggled weakly.

"I hope he wasn't too worried about me," she fondly commented for a moment. Then, when she realized what she'd said, she turned bright red and began stammering, "U- uh, I mean, he-"

"Chill, it's totally fine." Sakura laughed. "For the record, Naruto was the most worried out of all of us. He could've found you himself had he actually taken the time to check out the woods."


	22. I Felt Such Elation (Oh No, Premature Celebration)

After dinner that night, Kakashi managed to surprise Sakura with one more thing.

As she walked into the living room after washing her hair and towel-drying it, she stopped short at the sweet smell of dumplings from her favorite shop.

"Is that-" She started, staring at the delicious-looking sweets.

"Sasuke mentioned how you were craving dango," Kakashi explained, making the boy's face flush and the boy to slide down further in his chair, "so I went out and bought you some as a celebration."

As she sat down at the table, gazing at him in adoration, he mentioned, "And extra syrup, just the way you like them, right?"

"Of course!" She breathed, taking one of the sticks in her hand. The syrup almost oozed off of the sweet dumplings, just the way she always liked to eat them. "Thank you so much, Kakashi-sensei!"

"You deserve it!" Naruto piped up with a grin. "The rice is almost done, too!"

"Rice?" She asked with a confused look towards their teacher.

"Jasmine rice for all of us," he simply replied, heading off into the kitchen.

"Oh wow," she laughed. "This is awesome! Thanks, you guys!"

"You deserve it, after the work you did," Sasuke chimed in quietly from beside her. When she looked up at him, he was smiling, something that made her stomach do a full 360.

Still, when she thought about her friends, she got a weird feeling.

 _"Maybe I'm just paranoid,"_ she thought to herself as Kakashi brought them all bowls of aromatic, steaming white rice.

"Everyone gets two dango sticks and a bowl of rice," Kakashi instructed, taking two of the sticks for himself.

Each camper muttered an 'itadakimasu' before digging in. Sakura nearly moaned out loud at the flavors bursting in her mouth. She turned to look at Kakashi, who was simply waiting.

"You're excellent at making rice, Kakashi-sensei," she commented. She glanced at his mask with a giggle. "Still won't show us your face?"

"I haven't the slightest idea as to what you're talking about," he said innocently.

Even as the whole table laughed at Naruto's indignant cry in reply, she couldn't shake the sinking feeling that something would happen.

 _"Everything's going so well right now... how long until the kidnapper strikes again?"_ She frowned, staring into her bowl.

"Everything alright, Sakura?" Kakashi asked.

She looked up and asked, "Sensei, could you ask Asuma-sensei to keep an eye on Ino tonight?"

He appeared puzzled for a moment, before he retained his passive face and asked, "May I ask why?"

"I just... I dunno, I feel like she's in danger tonight." She shrugged loosely, taking another bite of rice. "Like a steal-back type of situation?"

"One mustn't be too careful, I suppose," their gray-haired teacher hummed. "Alright, I'll ask him once we're done eating, if it eases your conscience."

"It would. Thank you, Sensei." She was grateful, to him for promising, yet some part of her asked if it would be enough.

A couple of minutes later, she had eaten her last dumpling and was only a couple of bites of rice away when the feeling came back full-force, and her stomach churned dangerously enough for her to hop to her feet. "Kakashi-sensei, I'll be right back."

He nodded just as she raced to the bathroom. She shut the door and shakily locked it behind her, her nerves suddenly deciding to hit her full-force. She barely had enough time to lift the toilet lid before she was retching, gripping the bowl with all she had as her stomach convulsed. She gagged, tasting acid on her tongue for a moment before she spat a pool of saliva into the toilet.

As her form sagged against the porcelain, she began to shudder, letting out a distressed keen. Her stomach, thankfully, had stopped trying to expel its contents, but she still felt as if all her strength had been sapped.

She panted, letting go of the toilet so that she could maneuver herself into lying down on the carpet. She pulled out her phone, quickly tapping through the menus so she could get to Ino's phone number.

She held the phone up to her ear shakily as it rang, once, twice, three times. Finally, to her relief, Ino picked up with a cheery, _"Hello!"_

"Oh thank Kami-sama you picked up," Sakura breathed.

_"Sakura? What's wrong?"_

"I had a horrible feeling that you were in danger." She explained, brushing sweaty hairs away from her face. "Are you okay?"

_"Yeah, I'm... fine. Is this like that one night you were so worried about Sasuke?"_

"Yeah, it is." She nodded, closing her eyes. "Please promise me you'll be okay tonight, okay?"

 _"I got you, Forehead."_ Ino replied. _"I'll call you first thing in the morning."_

"Thank you so much." The girl sighed heavily, away from the phone.

 _"No prob. I gotta go; Shikamaru dared Choji to eat an entire platter of turkey and he's placing bets with Asuma-sensei."_ Ino giggled at that. _"I'll see you tomorrow!"_

* * *

_Screaming._

Sakura tossed and turned in her bed, her face scrunched up in a frown.

_Campers running, tripping, falling, trying to get away from something._

"No, no," she mumbled under her breath.

_Ino._

_"Sakura! Help me!" She was yelling, crying, reaching toward her with one hand, a kunai dragging the ground in the other as something wrapped around her legs and dragged her out of sight-_

"No!" Her heartrate spiked as she awakened, sweaty and disheveled, in her bed.

Pulling out her phone, she squinted at the screen in the darkness. Nothing except her wallpaper, which was of a recently-taken photo of her, Ino, Tenten, and Hinata by the lake, all beaming at the camera.

Her fingers trembled horribly as she called Ino's number, not even bringing the phone up to her ear. She stared at the screen as it showed Ino's caller ID for a few seconds.

Finally, when she heard it faintly ringing, she put it to her ear.

Once. Twice. Three times. Four. Five.

**Beeeeeep.**

_"Hey, this is Ino! Sorry I couldn't answer you; I'm probably busy. Please leave your name and number so I can call you when I get the chance! See ya!"_

She hung up just as the automated voice began to go through its spiel. She called again.

**Beeeeeep.**

_"Hey, this is Ino! Sorry I couldn't answer you-"_

She tried again.

**Beeeeeep.**

And again.

**Beeeeeep.**

And one last time.

**Beeeeeep.**

_"Hey, this is Ino! Sorry I couldn't answer you; I'm probably busy. Please leave your name and number so I can call you when I get the chance! See ya!"_

She pulled the phone away and stared at it as the screen lit up. Ino's mischievous grin stared right back at her right as the automated voice started droning.

She grit her teeth. _"Not tonight."_

She whipped back her covers, yanked her phone from its charger, and determinedly went through the cabin. She found her shoes at the entrance in their cubby, and she grabbed them, slipped them on, and raced out the door.

She ran down the lane until she found Cabin 10. Standing outside, she inspected the sides. To her relief, she didn't see the claw marks from her cabin, but she still felt weird.

Suddenly, her phone began ringing in her pocket. She hastily fished out and nearly cried in relief when she saw Ino's caller ID. She picked up with a breathy, "Ino?"

 _"Holy shit, are you okay?"_ The girl sounded panicked on the phone. _"I was in the bathroom for three minutes, and I miss five calls from you? Are you hurt? Did the kidnapper come back for Sasuke?"_

Her knees buckled for a moment, and she leaned against a tree to keep herself upright. She let out a tiny laugh. "No, no, sorry. I just... had a nightmare."

The other end of the line was silent for a moment. Then, _"... Do you need me to come over?"_

"No, I'll be fine... I think." She sniffed, stuffing her other hand in her pocket. "Anyway. I'll, uh, see you tomorrow?"

 _"... Yeah."_ Ino didn't sound convinced, but the shifting in the background sounded like she was crawling back into bed. _"Get some rest, alright? Can't be missing sleep just because some weirdo's out there."_

"I will," Sakura said, nodding her head in agreement. "Good night."

Even a full minute after Ino hung up, she stood there, staring at the cabin. Finally, she blinked, feeling her exhaustion catching up to her. She stood up straighter, dusting off her back, before turning and trudging back to her cabin, intent on sleeping off the nightmare as best she could.


	23. Vengeance is Mine

The night passed slowly after that. Sakura was so shaken up about the dream that she spent most of the time sitting up against the bedframe, watching videos on her phone. She felt her sleepiness catching up to her, but she just couldn't fall asleep.

Finally, maybe around three-thirty, she managed to tuck herself into bed, phone charging on her nightstand. She closed her eyes, and after what seemed like a few minutes, she was asleep.

* * *

Early in the morning, she was awakened by someone shaking her shoulder violently.

Her eyes snapped open and she looked up, only to see Kakashi, mask on and hair mussed, staring at her with his eye wide with concern.

"Thank goodness you're awake," he said before she had a chance to open her mouth. "Look, long story short, something happened last night, and more campers are missing."

Her stomach dropped abruptly, around the same time that she shot up into a sitting position, grabbing his sleeves. "Is Ino okay?"

Kakashi winced.

Her heart skipped a beat.

It was all she needed to know, but right as she felt frustration wash over her, he patted her hair down and muttered, "I'm sorry, Sakura. She's gone."

She sniffled, her throat suddenly raw. Angry tears began to pool in her eyes.

Kakashi sat down on the edge of her bed and pulled her into a comforting hug, and she began to cry frustrated tears into his shirt.

Just then, Naruto popped his head in. "You done, Kakashi-sensei?"

His smile dropped when he saw how distraught his teammate looked, and with no hesitation he walked in and hopped up on her bed, hugging her tight.

"Damn this camp," she was muttering under her breath, her hands balled into tight fists. "Damn this creep. Damn everything. I want my best friend back."

Sasuke was next to appear in the doorway, concern written all over his face. He took Kakashi's place beside the pinkette, and no sooner did she let go of the man's shirt did she bury her face in Sasuke's chest, one hand tightly held by Naruto's.

"Don't worry, Sakura-chan," Naruto was soothing, squeezing her hand. "We'll find Ino, and everyone else that got taken! We'll find 'em all, no matter what!"

"She will be fine," Sasuke added quietly. "Everyone will be fine."

* * *

Later on, after Kakashi had explained everything and she'd excused herself to take a hot shower to wash off some of the hurt, she grabbed her shoes from their cubby and slipped them both on. Crying was some hungry business.

As soon as she opened the door to leave, she stopped short at a short, crude message scratched into the deck. It looked like someone had taken a kunai and had just _dragged_ it across the nice wood.

**YOU TOOK WHAT'S MINE**

**SO I'M TAKING WHAT'S YOURS**

She clenched her fists. Her nostrils flared. Her eyes narrowed in rage.

"That's it." She declared with a growl. "I'm getting him. You can take Hinata. You can take counselors. Hell, you can even _try_ to take Sasuke. But _nobody_. _Nobody_ messes with my best friend and gets away with it."

With that, she stomped off the porch and towards the dining hall, itching to find her friends and start a plan.

As she passed by Cabin 10, she paused. No claw marks underneath Ino's window, but there was that same coin-shaped hole by the window lock. The window was wide open, and there seemed to be a bit of blood on the sill, indicating a struggle. She could see a gaping hole in the top that got shallower as it went, hinting at someone digging a kunai knife in and being dragged, with it, from the bedroom.

That only served to sour her mood. She ran her finger across the gaping slash, glaring at the flecks of paint it left behind on her skin. _"The knife..."_

She turned and speed-walked to the cafeteria, her mind already racing.

When she got to the dining hall, she immediately spotted Tenten and the others at their table, along with a couple of additions, such as Neji. She grabbed a small amount of food and marched right over.

When she got to the table, she got the attention of the gloomy occupants. Tenten looked up with a sulky frown. "So you heard about Ino."

"Oh I heard." She all but slammed her tray down on the wood and sat down in a huff. "And I'm sick of it. Fuck this. I'm getting my friend back."

That took a couple of them off-guard. Tenten looked around, catching Neji's eye. He simply rose his eyebrows at her.

"What, you wanna go out and look?" Naruto gaped at her. "Without adults or anything?"

"Why, are you in?" She asked, grabbing a chunk of rice and stuffing it into her mouth.

"Well, I mean, I wanna save Ino just as much, but..." He seemed too uncertain.

She gulped down her food harshly. "I'm going out there with or without you, Naruto. All I wanna know is if you're in with what I've got."

"Hey, if no one else is gonna help you, then I will," Tenten declared with a grin. "Who knows? Maybe if we catch this creep red-handed, then we'll get to leave early!"

"Doubt they'd let us," Lee disagreed with a shake of his head. "We're supposed to be in the program for a certain amount of time. Government mandated."

"Well that's dumb," Naruto scoffed, picking at his beef.

Sakura took another bite of rice when someone tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around to see Karin with suspicious dark spots under her eyes, looking wrecked.

"They took Suigetsu," she explained with a shaky sigh as she sat down. "If you're planning to do anything, then I wanna help."

"Who's Suigetsu?" Lee asked.

"One of my cabinmates," the redhead replied. "I need to get him back."

"So you're in too?" Green eyes met red, and Karin nodded firmly. "Good. I've got a little bit of it planned out, but it requires a team of us."

"Anything to help." Tenten chimed in, placing her hand on the table.

Sakura placed hers over it, and Karin joined in.

"If my sister is helping, then you can count me in as well!" Lee proclaimed with a big smile. He eagerly set his hand down on top of theirs.

As Sakura looked around the table, silently daring anyone else to join, Sasuke placed his slender, pale hand atop the pile. She looked up at him questioningly, only for him to gaze intently back.

"I'm not letting you do this alone," he simply said.

Her heart warmed for a few moments, and she grinned at him. "Okay. So this is what I've got so far..."


	24. Impromptu Staff Meeting (feat. Naruto)

"Thank you for coming to this little... uh... mini-meeting." Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck, sighing heavily.

"What's going on, Kakashi?" Gai asked.

Asuma shifted in his seat, staring at the ground. Kurenai had her hand gently rubbing his back.

"They took more campers last night," Kakashi explained, arms folded behind his back as he paced in front of them. "Around eight, if reports are accurate."

"If they take much more, we won't have enough left to finish the program." Gai frowned back, crossing his arms across his chest. "This is bad."

"Bad is an understatement," Asuma hissed through his teeth. "I couldn't even keep my own student from being taken by that son of a bitch."

"It wasn't your fault, Asuma," Kurenai cooed. "It could happen to any of us."

"Exactly." Kakashi nodded his head sharply. "Which is why we need to plan on nipping this thing in the bud and going out patrolling tonight."

"We've already gone around nearly the entire island at this point," Kurenai piped up. "Where else could the missing ones be?"

"There's one spot we haven't checked, and that's where Hinata said she woke up at." Kakashi pointed off towards the forest. "The waterfall."

"Waterfall?" Asuma asked, incredulous. "I've been around this island damn near fifty times, and I've never seen any waterfall."

"That's probably why," Gai seemed to be putting the puzzle pieces together as his eyes widened in awe. "They knew we had no knowledge of it, and thus they hid away their prisoners near the one place we didn't look!"

"See, Gai gets it," The silver-haired man nodded. "I've already talked with Tsunade about this. She's gonna be sending out a team to look for this waterfall later today."

A flash of yellow darted back behind a tree, and he sighed heavily. "Naruto, I know you're there."

Said boy guiltily grinned as he came out from behind. "Sorry for eavesdropping, Kakashi-sensei."

"What do you need?" He tiredly asked. "Might as well not filibuster."

" _Weeeeeell_ ," the boy dragged out, folding his arms behind his head, "I _was_ gonna ask you if I could make a snack in the cabin, but this is _way_ more interesting than onigiri."

He cemented his declaration by planting his hands on his hips and staring right at the adults. "We're going too."

" _What?_ " Asuma yelled, standing from his stump. To his credit, Naruto only flinched for half a second before fixing his determined gaze on the dark-haired man. "Absolutely _not_. We are _not_ allowing a bunch of children to go out there and get kidnapped!"

"Aw c'mon, Asuma-sensei!" Naruto griped. "We can help! I know Hinata-chan could probably direct us to where she got taken-"

"-And get taken again in the process," Kurenai chimed in with a frown. "I'm sorry, Naruto, but I'm afraid taking her is not the best choice when she's still healing."

"And to add to that, we are not taking a chance on bringing a bunch of children to the kidnapper's door!" Asuma shot back at the boy. "It would be like taking candy from a child! You are staying here, in camp, where we at least know you're safe."

"No, screw that, we're _not_ staying here again." Naruto suddenly snapped. He trained a cerulean glare at the surprised counselor. "That was way too boring. All we did was sit in the cafeteria! _And_ we didn't even get snacks, because the cooks were searching with you!"

"The boy's got a point, Sarutobi," Kakashi drawled, giving him a shrug. "I mean, think about it: We're heading a camp full of energized kids. They won't be able to sit that still for that long again, especially if it takes us several hours to search."

"Yeah, what Kakashi-sensei said!" Naruto puffed out his chest, smiling smugly.

Asuma sighed heavily, holding his head in his hands as he bent forward on the stump. Kurenai replaced her hand on his shoulder.

"You don't fully understand the confusion and panic the staff are going through, Naruto," Kurenai explained softly. "The fear of losing a child and the frustration when you can't do a thing to save them is really driving everyone mad right now."

"No, believe me, I get it." The blond insisted, frowning at them. "It's about the same when you lose a good friend. Hinata was- _is_ \- loved by everyone. Everyone was super depressed and jumpy when she got taken. You should've seen everyone in the cafeteria earlier today when word spread about how she came back." He chuckled a bit right there. "If you just let us work together, if you just let us _help_ you, we could potentially be more powerful than this creep is expecting."

"That is true," Kakashi observed. Then, with an indulgent sigh, he patted the boy on the shoulder. "Alright, you can assemble a small team," he gave him a pointed look, "a _small team_ , and come with us later."

Naruto whooped, fist-pumping the air. "Thank you so much, Kakashi-sensei! I promise we won't let you down!"

As he raced off after giving Asuma a smug grin, said man looked incredulously at Kakashi.

"Why in the hell would you tell him that?" He hissed.

"Yeah, Kakashi. Isn't that a bit counter-productive?" Kurenai chimed in.

"Relax a little, Asuma. The kid would find a way to sneak out and help anyway." Kakashi crossed his arms behind his head. "At least this way, we'll be able to keep an eye on them while they're searching with us."

"Kakashi has a point. This is a better alternative for everyone." Gai nodded firmly. "I should take Tenten and Lee with me. If I know him, then Neji will want to stay behind with Hinata as she's resting."

Just then, Tsunade casually walked up to them, hands on her hips. "What are you guys up to?"

"Oh, Tsunade-sama!" Asuma jumped to his feet, saluting her. "Nothing, ma'am, just, uh..."

"Discussing the weather," Kurenai offered.

"Planning dinner," Kakashi shrugged.

"Training regimens for tomorrow!" Gai eagerly replied.

"All of that!" Asuma finally said with a nervous laugh.

The blonde arched one eyebrow at them. " _Really_."

"Yes! So, uh, what did you need?" Asuma scratched the back of his neck.

Tsunade then chuckled, shaking her head at them as she walked over to Kakashi.

She leaned in as she handed him a note, muttering in his ear, "Be ready to head out by five o'clock sharp."

Then, with as pleasant of a face as she could manage, she reached out and smacked him upside the head.

He quickly reacted, holding that throbbing part of his head with a hiss of pain.

"Next time, maybe don't discuss private matters out in the open like this," she casually reprimanded with a smile. "Now get back to your cabins. We've got work to do."


	25. Caught Sticky-Handed

So far, so good. Sakura walked from her bedroom to the kitchen, where she had begun to pack snacks. So far she'd made a few sandwiches from the stuff Kakashi had on hand and had looked around the boys' stuff to find some trail mix (she'd already donated her rice crackers and a couple of protein bars), and she'd just heard the rice cooker ding, so she was about to make some onigiri.

So far, so good.

Naruto had come back excited, telling everyone that the plan really was on. Everyone was given their instructions (Tenten was to hand out weapons to everyone, Sakura and Lee were on snack duty (since Tenten swore to the mountains that he made damn good cookies that would beat out any store-bought frosted sugar cookies), Naruto and Sasuke were to head out with Karin to scope out possible hidden routes into the forest, and Neji had, indeed, said he would stay behind with Hinata.

She tightened her ponytail and began washing her hands, humming some pop song that was fairly popular on the radio. She'd lucked out when she saw the nori in the kitchen. A bit of flavor for the rice.

She swayed back and forth as she scooped up some rice and began to shape it with her hands. She was thankful her mother had started teaching her how to cook a couple of years prior.

She set the ball on the plate in front of her, and as she turned around to get the nori, she froze upon seeing Kakashi sitting at the kitchen table, hands folded.

... Neither of them moved.

Beat.

... Sakura blinked.

"Uh..." she stuttered intelligently. She rose one sticky hand. "... hi."

"Hello, Sakura." He greeted pleasantly.

Her eyes darted back and forth from the nori to Kakashi. "So."

"So." He echoed.

She fell silent for a few seconds, trying to think of what to say. _"Dammit! He caught me red- er, sticky-handed! How in the hell am I gonna explain this to him? I told Sasuke he should've been the one tasked with making the food!"_

It took a grand total of three whole seconds of staring at her teacher before the dam broke and she rose her hands, words exploding from her mouth. "I- it's not what it looks like! Well, I don't know what it looks like other than me taking your food, but I promise I'm not-"

He chuckled, raising a hand to quiet her. "Calm down, I already know."

She stopped in her tracks. Fear spread through her face in the form of growing whiter. "W- who told you?"

"Naruto asked if you all could come," he shrugged loosely. "And I said you could."

At his words, she sagged against the counter, relieved. "Oh thank Kami-sama," she breathed, barely remembering in time that her hands were sticky before she could cover her face.

Kakashi stood and walked over to the kitchen counter, inspecting the rice balls. He nodded in approval. "You kids have a real operation going on here," he commented. "It's impressive seeing you all set your differences aside to work together."

"Well someone's gotta do something," she replied, grabbing a piece of nori and folding it onto the rice. "And if the adults come up blank, then I'd say it's fair game to let us try."

"An excellent point." He patted her head and watched her work. "I admit, perhaps we should have put you kids to work alongside us in the first place. But you do have to understand that it simply would not have been safe."

"Yeah, I get it," she mumbled with a sigh. "Since people are going missing."

He nodded again. "There is simply no way Tsunade would have let us take you anyway. But now, at least, the situation has grown dire enough that we wouldn't mind a little extra help."

"I can safely say that we're honored that you're needing our help."

"I bet you are." He chuckled, rolling up his sleeves and discarding his gloves. "Would you mind help?"

"Not at all, Kakashi-sensei." She smiled as he began to wash his hands. She set the rice ball she was working on down on the plate. "Not at all."

* * *

Later in the day, the shadows were growing along the ground when the group met at the entrance of the forest.

"I'm really nervous to go," Sakura admitted, crossing her arms. "What if we get lost?"

"We won't get lost if we have buddies!" Naruto replied enthusiastically, laughing. "Don't worry so much, Sakura-chan. We'll be totally fine."

"For once, I agree," Sasuke nodded in agreement. "We have Hinata's help and we'll have our counselors the whole time."

She cast him a disbelieving look, but simply shook her head.

She happened to look behind herself for a second and smiled when she saw Karin running towards them. "Hey, Karin! Are you coming with us after all?"

"Yep," she panted as she caught up. She bent over, putting her hands on her knees. "My cabin counselor thankfully said I could."

"Glad to have you with us, cousin!" Naruto cheerfully greeted.

"C- cousin?" The other two kids were taken aback at this revelation. Sakura and Sasuke shared a surprised look as Naruto helped Karin upright.

"Yeah, we're cousins on my mom's side," Naruto explained. "It's complicated, but let's say she's a distant cousin."

"Not that distant," she objected with a small smile. "Our aunts are cousins."

"Small world after all." Sakura hummed.

As soon as they got to the forest's entrance, they saw Gai along with Tenten and Lee standing there.

"Hey guys!" Tenten called, waving them over.

"Yo!" Sakura gave her a side-hug as they approached. "You got the weapons?"

"Sure do!" She proudly opened her bag to show them the stockpile of kunai and shuriken. "Got these babies from the storage shed! On loan, of course."

"Each of you gets two kunai and two shuriken," Kakashi instructed, handing them out. "If you lose them, you pay to replace them."

"Hai," the group chorused. Most of them put their knives in the hip holsters they'd been loaned when they got to camp, and a few put them in pockets or in their bags.

Lee was beaming as he came over to kneel in front of Sakura, taking her hands. "It's wonderful to be travelling with you, dear Sakura-chan!"

She laughed, helping him up. "I wouldn't miss a good ol' search party for anything, Lee."

"Neither would I," Sasuke interjected, giving the boy a level frown.


	26. A Most Unfortunate Series of Events

After they had distributed the snacks among them (plus the cookies Lee had made, which did look damn good), they decided to split into two-man teams to cover more ground. Tenten had objected, calling it 'some Scooby-Doo Fred starter pack shit', but everyone else promptly ignored her.

Kakashi and Gai went down the path towards the deeper parts of the forest. Lee and Tenten followed them, but mostly so they could do a full loop around the island. Sasuke and Sakura decided to go with Naruto and Karin to the waterfall that Hinata had mentioned, armed with only a crude sketch of what the area looked like.

"Man, we really got the short end of the stick with this one," Naruto commented, squinting at the drawing. "How the hell are we supposed to find where this is?"

"It doesn't sound that hard to miss a roaring waterfall," Sasuke replied blandly. "If we hear water, we go towards it. It's that simple."

Naruto grumbled something under his breath, and Karin nudged him.

"Hey, Sasuke-kun's got a point," she cajoled, glancing ahead. "Anyways, we've gone pretty far on the path. Shouldn't we start heading off sometime soon?"

"Hinata said that when you get to a certain point, you'll see an old headband tied to a tree." Sakura instructed. "It's at that point that you wanna go left. The path is pretty invisible otherwise."

She hummed in reply, but otherwise said nothing.

After a ways up the road, Sasuke stopped in his tracks. "Found the headband," he said, pointing out the stained blue fabric wrapped around a thin branch. It wasn't very visible, considering the big, thorny berry patch that grew next to the tree. You could only faintly see the end of the navy, and the plate was rusted enough that it didn't shine in the late afternoon sun.

"Great!" Sakura exclaimed. "Onwards, to the left!"

The group veered left, down a near-invisible grass path. The way was dotted with bushes here and there, as well as the odd tree branch that forced them to either duck or push it out of the way. It wasn't very well-kept, which was probably why the adults had missed it.

"This is getting kinda creepy," Naruto shivered. "Just where in the heck are we going?"

"Hopefully we're going the right way," Karin chimed in, eyes darting nervously back and forth. She very nearly missed getting her hair snagged on a low-hanging branch, but she ducked just in time.

Meanwhile, Sakura was concentrating. She could only hear their traipsing through the underbrush, and the occasional call of a bird, but other than that, it was dead silent.

Then, she heard it. The faintest sound of running water.

"Guys, I think we're close," she said, straining her ears to hear better. "Listen. You hear that?"

Everyone stopped in place and went quiet.

Naruto was the first to exclaim. "Hey, we're nearly there! Where's it coming from?"

"Somewhere north-east, if I'm hearing correctly," Sakura said, pointing further left. "Stay close, guys."

As they went towards the sound, they came across a large tree whose branches dragged the ground.

"So that's how it was hidden," Sasuke muttered to himself as Karin gave a low whistle. "Impressive."

He grabbed a sturdy part of the branch and yanked it up high enough so that they could crawl through. "Everyone in."

As soon as they'd each went under, one at a time, he crawled in after them, letting go of the branch behind. It immediately snapped back towards the ground, and after a few seconds of silence, you never could have noticed there was any way forward.

One by one, they popped up on the other side of the trunk, gazing in awe at the sight before them.

"Whoa," Naruto breathed, jaw agape.

Before them, through a small clearing, was a giant rock wall that looked as if it had been much higher at some point. Through cracks in the rocks, a large waterfall gushed downward and through a curvy stream that snaked its way through the land.

"So scenic," Karin whispered, adjusting her glasses.

"It's beautiful." Sakura agreed.

"Let's get moving again," Sasuke instructed, marching forward. "Perhaps there's something behind the waterfall."

"Why would you think that?" Naruto asked, scrunching up his nose.

"Please." The Uchiha scoffed. "In every single story you've ever read, in every single movie you've ever seen, there's a place behind the waterfall. Do you even consume media, dobe?"

The blond sputtered some angry response. The others ignored it, going toward the waterfall.

Sasuke was able to find a relatively-dry rock path behind the massive wall of water a ways, and as soon as he found it, he was able to find a cavern going into the mountain big enough for two people to go through at a time. He was the first to send Naruto a smug smirk.

"Told you so," he announced, pointing to the darkness. "There's a way in."

"You two should go last," Sakura suggested. "Y'know, just in case something or someone tries to come at us from the back."

"Whaat? C'mon, Sakura-chan," Naruto groaned. "At least let one of us go first!"

"Nope!" Karin chimed in, folding her arms across her chest. "I'll go first. That way I'll be able to sense if someone's coming."

"Good point." Sasuke relented. "Alright, fair enough. I'll go last."

He paused, sending the blond a glare. "And don't you _dare_ fart in my face."

"Wha- I would never!" Naruto indignantly scoffed. "I have control over my body!"

"Seriously. You fart, and you're the first one getting thrown to the kidnapper." The noiret threatened. "There is no way in hell I'm coming out of this smelling like whatever's dying in your bowels."

Sakura stifled a chuckle at the interaction as she turned on her phone's flashlight and followed Karin in.

The first thing they realized was that the walls were sharp. The rock walls were jagged and uneven, and every so often you'd heard someone hiss in pain as their hands were nicked. You essentially had to keep feeling for the walls as you went, otherwise you'd trip and fall.

Somewhere halfway through, Naruto yelped. "Ow! Something stabbed me!"

"You sure it wasn't just a rock or something?" Sakura asked. "One of your shuriken sticking you?"

"No, I swear something jabbed me!" Naruto insisted, momentarily letting to of the wall to rub his arm.

A few seconds later, Sasuke grunted in pain. "The dobe's right. Something got me too."

"Maybe you got bit by a spider or something," Karin said, turning to look at them over her shoulder.

"No, this... this feels different." Sasuke frowned, feeling the wound. His fingers lightly grazed against the puncture, and he hissed in pain. "It feels like... a blade wound of some kind."

"How the hell do you know what that feels like?" Naruto asked incredulously.

There was a pause.

"My dad's a cop, remember?" He retorted shortly. "I've seen and felt my fair share of stab wounds."

Karin shivered. "That's kinda gross."

"It would be grosser if he didn't insist you put on gloves first." Sasuke answered nonchalantly, as if talking about the weather. "Although... I guess technically that would be putting your prints on the victim, so maybe it's good he's such a germaphobe."

Without further comment about the boys' punctures, they made it through the waterfall cave to the other side. Almost immediately, they came to another cave, although this one was more well-lit by a torch burning away ensconced to the wall.

"Let's stop and eat something first," Karin said, sitting on the ground.

The other three mimicked her and sat, tugging off their backpacks. Each took swigs from their water bottles before pulling out some bento boxes.

Sasuke began chugging from his bottle before pressing it to his forehead, further dampening it.

"Careful that you don't drink all your water," Karin advised with a frown. "I don't know if the water here is safe to drink."

"I don't feel that good." Naruto slurred. "Everything feels weird."

"Yeah..." Sasuke breathed, frowning in confusion as he stared at the onigiri he'd pulled out. He looked way more woozy than the blond did, and his face was pale and sweaty. "I... I don't-"

His eyes rolled into the back of his head and he suddenly went crashing to the ground backwards, his water bottle clunking on the rocks.

Naruto jumped to his feet immediately, his heart rate skyrocketing with him. "Sasuke!"

Karin gasped and Sakura scrambled to stand, snapping the lid back on her box and shoving it into her bag.

"Is he all right?" She asked.

Karin darted towards the unconscious boy, feeling for his pulse on the base of his neck. She hesitated for a few moments before looking up with a grim expression.

"His pulse is really jumpy," she explained. "He needs to get to medical as soon as possible."

"I'm on it," Naruto declared, marching over. He grabbed Sasuke around the waist, draped him over his shoulder with hardly any extra effort, and started going back through the waterfall.

The two girls exchanged worried looks and followed him out of the clearing, Sakura stooping on the way to grab Sasuke's dropped water bottle.

As soon as they were out of the cave, Naruto broke into a run, ducking under the branch as fast as he could and speed-walking while crouching. Sakura and Karin could hardly keep up with him, helping each other under the branch before jogging so they wouldn't lose him.

"Naruto, hold on!" Karin called. "You're going too fast!"

"Do you want him to get worse, or do you want him to get help?" Naruto shouted back from ahead on the path. He took a sharp right and disappeared around the corner.

As soon as they exited the forest, they saw him going up the hill to the medical cabin. Luckily, Sakura found a shortcut (the staircase up the hill) and they met him at the door.

As soon as he entered, he called, "Nurse Shizune, come quick! Sasuke's hurt!"

She appeared from Hinata's room, alarmed. "What happened?"

"They got stabbed with something," Karin explained. "They may have been poisoned."

That alarm turned to fear very quickly, and Shizune took Sasuke off of Naruto's shoulder. "Thank you for bringing him, Naruto. I'll get started right away."

"Yeah, you do that," Naruto agreed with a nod. He swayed on his feet for a moment before he finally fell forward in a cold faint into Karin, who scrambled to hold him up with a cry of " _Naruto_?!"


	27. Obligatory Friendship Speech

"Poison," Shizune stated as she brushed some hair away from the boy's pale face. "All I know so far is that it must be poison."

"No specific kind?" Kakashi asked, raising an eyebrow. Sakura was sitting beside him, resting her forehead on his shoulder as he sympathetically rubbed her back.

"No." Shizune sighed, tiredly rubbing her face. "Unfortunately, it must be a kind that no one has seen around here. Apparently Sasuke had a higher dose of it, which is why he collapsed immediately afterward."

She turned to glance at Naruto, who was still asleep. "But Naruto, I guess, burned through a lot of it by pure adrenaline alone. He should be waking up any time now."

"And Sasuke?" Sakura asked fearfully.

The pretty brunette woman shot her a sympathetic frown. "I'm sorry, honey. I have no way of knowing how long his unconsciousness will last. For all we know, it could be hours to days before he shows signs of waking up."

Right as she finished speaking, Sasuke's eyebrows furrowed and he began mumbling. "Tou-san... Tou-san, I'm here..."

Sakura gently squeezed his hand, and he tilted his head towards her, as if he knew she was there. "Sa... kura," he mumbled, as if struggling with her name.

At this, she sniffled, rubbing harshly to get the moisture out of her eye. "I'm here, Sasuke," she whispered, running her thumb across his knuckles.

"He's been doing that for at least an hour," Shizune explained sadly. "Mostly, he calls for his mother and father, but sometimes he calls for you and Naruto."

She nodded dumbly, swallowing past the lump in her throat.

A quiet yawn from beside the boy made them look up. Naruto's nose scrunched up for a moment before he slowly opened his eyes. They darted around lazily for a second before he smiled sleepily.

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei," he greeted hoarsely. "Sakura-chan."

"Hey, Naruto." Kakashi smiled at him. "How are you feeling?"

"Like shit," Naruto mumbled under his breath before saying louder, "I feel like crap. What happened?"

"You passed out after bringing Sasuke to the medical cabin," Sakura answered after wiping her eye again. "Looks like Sasuke was right. You were both poisoned."

That got his attention. His eyes opened wider, and he frowned worriedly. "Poison? From what?"

"That's what we're still trying to figure out," Shizune piped up. She felt his forehead and nodded. "Your fever seems to be going down a little. Do you want some water?"

"Yes please." Naruto said, swallowing. "My throat is super sore."

She got up to walk out of the room. As soon as the door closed, Kakashi hummed in thought.

"Poison..." he muttered. He looked up at Sasuke, whose expression had evened out. "Perhaps..."

"What?" Sakura asked. "You know something?"

"Maybe," he admitted, scratching the back of his head. "There's a good chance, if we're dealing with who I think we are, that it could be..."

"What is it?" Naruto echoed.

"Snake venom, not poison." Kakashi finished. "That would explain why Shizune can't figure out what it is. It could be a type of venom that isn't commonly seen in the medical field."

"But yet with similar enough symptoms that they could deduce it could be either or," Sakura guessed. "That makes sense, I guess. But who would go through the trouble to use snake venom?"

At this, Kakashi's expression soured. "That's complicated, to say the least. The one I would personally accuse should be locked away, but if it were a copycat..."

"I, for one, think we should go back there." Naruto interjected as soon as Shizune came back in with a glass of water. He downed about half of it in a few gulps before putting it on the table. He thanked her before turning to his teacher. "I mean think about it! We must've been close to something big, otherwise why try to get us out of the way?"

"Absolutely not," Kakashi shook his head. "You are healing before I ever let you go back out there."

"And why not?" Naruto argued, folding his arms across his chest. "C'mon, Kakashi-sensei! We're the ones who got the closest! I mean, we found the damn waterfall after all-"

"How about this." The gray-haired man interrupted. "I'll ask Tsunade if I can go with a small squad to the waterfall. When Sasuke wakes up, we could exchange... tokens, or something. You know, to remind yourself about the other two in your cabin and remember that you'll all come out of this all right. You know... friendship and love conquers all. Plus, if anything happens to one of you, at least you'll know if one of us shows you the knickknack alone. I think Jiraiya had some method like that? Anyway, you'll see the thing and know that your friendship and love is connected, and... er... well wishes, strengthening one another... yeah."

"What? That's dumb." Naruto frowned. "You just made it up! What would that help?"

"I think it's cute," Shizune disagreed with a chuckle. "It's kind of like exchanging pictures with someone to remember that person even when you're both far away from each other."

"Exactly." Kakashi smiled amusedly at the boy's grumbling. "But what should you get, I wonder... painted rocks?"

"That would be cool," Sakura chimed in with a small smile. "I could ask the art teacher if we could borrow some paints."

"I don't know..." Shizune seemed concerned, glancing over at where Sasuke lay. "We still aren't a hundred percent sure about what, exactly, you were injected with. I don't think it's wise to try and mix paint with whatever you've got. Might I suggest little cards of some kind?"

"Or how about little colored gems?" Sakura offered. "They sell cute little necklaces with fake gemstones as charms."

"Interesting." Kakashi observed. "I never would have thought they would sell those. How much do they go for?"

"About five bucks a necklace," the pinkette said. "Or I could just buy some fake gems and get some of the string from my backpack. It'll save us about... oh let's see, it's two-fifty for each gem, so that's about seven-fifty..."

She frowned, drawing the numbers on her palm. After a couple of tries, she nodded. "I'd be saving about the same, seven-fifty."

"Something handmade. How sweet." Kakashi patted her head with a smile. "Tell you what: I'll take you to the camp store after this so you can get your supplies."

"Awesome!" She exclaimed, turning and hugging him around the middle.

"I guess that wouldn't be too bad," Naruto hummed. Then he grinned. "Actually, it sounds awesome! I can wear mine along with Granny's necklace!"

When he pulled out said necklace to show it, Kakashi looked interested.

"You have Tsunade-sama's necklace?" He asked in wonder.

"Yeah!" He replied happily. "Granny gave it to me years ago. I said that I wanted to be mayor when I grow up, and she hit me pretty hard, but she gave it to me afterward."

The man nodded in sudden understanding. "Oh, right, you are her godson."

"And I'm her goddaughter," Sakura added, chuckling a bit.

The poor man had to stop for a few minutes in an essential blue screen, trying to figure out just how that would work with the two of them.

 _"What?"_ He thought to himself, dumbfounded. _"But... but Naruto has been open about his crush on Sakura... I- oh dear."_

Finally, he just looked up, defeated, and deadpanned, "Sorry, Luke, but your princess is on another Death Star."

All of a sudden, Shizune got a very concerned frown on her face. The wheels were turning in her head, and after a few seconds, she burst into loud laughter, sagging against the wall in support.

Sakura looked over in alarm.

Sasuke... kept being unconscious.

Naruto scrunched up his nose in frustration.

"People keep _telling_ me that!" He cried indignantly amid Shizune's howling laughter. " _WHAT DOES IT MEAN_?!"


	28. Karin is Easily Stubborn (And Juugo Isn't Having It)

Karin sat in the living room of her cabin, her other teammate Juugo sitting next to her. She opened her eyes, staring out the window.

"Oh, Karin, what's wrong?" Her counselor's voice made her look up, and into his unnervingly-black eyes. They seemed sympathetic enough, but something about them was... very creepy. And it wasn't just her imagination, either. Even Suigetsu thought their counselor was off.

She shook her head slowly. "It's nothing," she lied.

His ice-cold hand gently grasped her chin and made her look up into his pale, placid face. If she squinted a little, she caught just the slightest bit of gray in his hair, but it could easily be dismissed as a trick of the light.

"Karin, you're my student. I care about you. Please tell me what's bothering you?" Even his voice seemed too slick. Oily. Almost as if he was some villain in an action movie, sans the stereotypical British accent.

"Well," she finally relented with a sad sigh, "it's been a rough week. I mean, people getting kidnapped, my friends going missing, and now the boy I like _and_ my cousin got poisoned by something."

"I'm sorry, dear," he cooed, gently smoothing down her hair. His very touch made her hair stand on end, and she soon grew uncomfortable with his stare. "I'm sure your friends will be found soon. I'm sure your cousin will get better, too."

"Yeah, me too..." she mumbled, trying to end the conversation.

It might've worked, because one moment his hand was still in her hair, and the next, it was gone, and when she looked up, so was he.

She sighed once more and turned to Juugo. "You don't think I upset him, did I?"

The ginger-haired boy shrugged loosely. "I don't know," he replied quietly. "It's... hard to read him at the best of times."

She nodded once. Then a thought came to her, and she jumped off the couch, surprising him enough that he dropped his phone onto his lap. "Quick! Juugo! Do you have Sakura's number?"

"Sakura?" He rose an eyebrow at her. "You mean Sakura Haruno?"

"Yes!" She eagerly replied.

He hummed in thought. Then he winced apologetically. "Sorry, I don't believe I do."

"Darn." She huffed, slouching. "Well, that's okay. I'll just text I-"

Right as she was pulling out her phone, she stopped, realizing with a groan, "Oh yeah... Ino's missing."

She thought about it for a few moments. _"Well... Ino's missing, and she's the only one I know who would have Sakura's number. But I can't just ask her for it..."_

She walked back to her room, a contemplating frown on her face. _"Maybe one of my other friends would know."_

Then, as if he was reading her thoughts, Juugo piped up, "Why don't you just go find Sakura and ask for it?"

She startled, turning around and sputtering, "W- well, I just- It's not like I know her that well, or anything-"

"Who knows," he continued, "maybe you'll get to spend some time with Sasuke as well."

Her face burned with embarrassment, and she chose to leave the cabin, grabbing her sandals on the way.

Juugo watched her go with slight amusement.

As soon as she slammed the door behind herself, he laughed under his breath.

"She has nothing to be ashamed of," he thought out loud. "I mean, it's just Sakura."

He then grabbed his phone, stood from the couch, stretched his back a bit, and then went back to his and Suigetsu's room.

* * *

Meanwhile, Sakura was near the field, picking some fresh wildflowers to put into the flower vase on Hinata's bedside table with Tenten.

They had been discussing the practicality of carrying a frying pan through the woods as a weapon, when a thought occurred to her.

"Deviating from the topic, but you know, it amazes me just how chill Sasuke's fangirls have been over the past few days." She commented, hand going in-between two flowers for a second before she picked the one with brighter petals.

"You really shouldn't," Tenten replied with a huff of laughter. "Everyone in camp respects Hinata. You probably haven't seen, but she's fairly popular among the other girls. You rescuing her a couple of days ago was probably enough to get through to them about how mean they were being to you for no reason. They're probably just evaluating their life choices right now."

"Huh. I never really thought about that." She hummed thoughtfully. "I always assumed she was the loner type, but I guess she is pretty well-liked."

"That's an understatement." Tenten snorted, ripping a particularly-stubborn flower out of the ground, frowning in distaste when she saw the roots still attached. "Since her family is pretty wealthy, she meets a ton of other rich kids all the time. Neji has told me stories of how strict and awful her dad is, but he seems to be surprisingly gentle when it comes to anything outside training her up to inherit the family business."

"So you can get along with Mister Bishie after all," Sakura teased, bumping her with her elbow.

"I- it's not like that!" Tenten insisted, her cheeks going pink. "Sometimes, when we have a common interest, like Hinata, we can work together. Sometimes. Rarely."

"Mhm," she hummed, winking at her.

Speak of the devil, here comes Neji now. The two girls happened to look up as he made his way towards the flower patch, looking calm as always. (He seemed to have less of a resting bitch-face now that Hinata was in the medical cabin... hmm.)

"Sakura-san!" He called out, catching her attention. "Uzumaki asked me to come and get you."

"Really? Is he hurt? Did he try to sneak out the window?" She asked, her eyebrows raising.

"No, no, it's nothing like that." He snorted. "Believe me, between Hatake-sensei visiting and Shizune-san checking in, he'd have a horrible time of it."

"You'd be surprised..." Tenten muttered.

"He actually asked me to come and get you because Sasuke has been yelling your name for the past fifteen minutes." He glanced back up at the medical cabin, almost as if sensing Sasuke calling her.

"What?" She asked, surprised. She turned to Tenten apologetically. "Sorry, Ten, looks like I'm needed."

"Go ahead." The girl was pretty gracious, grinning at her. "I'll finish picking some flowers and then I'll be right up too."

"Thanks."

With that, she turned and followed Neji back up the hill. Sticking her right hand into her shorts pocket, she felt for the fake gems she'd bought with Kakashi and silently pleaded for him to wake up soon.


	29. Knight in Distress

The first thing Sasuke registered was that he felt way too heavy.

When he opened his eyes, he blinked drowsily for a few moments before he realized that he was in the medical cabin.

"Well well well, look who decided to wake up." Naruto said, giving him a beaming grin. "How you been?"

"I feel... like shit." Sasuke moaned hoarsely. He turned his head slowly to see a cup of water on the bedside table to his left. He decided to try and go for it, first trying to flex his hand to see if he could move.

Naruto watched as he tried to lift his arm to reach the glass of water. To his credit, he tried really hard. But his arm just wasn't responding, and after a few straining moments, Sasuke let out a breath, sagging backwards onto the pillow. He turned to face Naruto with a look of pure shame.

"... I don't feel like I can move," he muttered lamely.

"Well, Sakura will be back soon, so." The blond shrugged.

Faintly, he heard the door opening, and as soon as he turned his head to see who it was, he heard Sakura gasp.

"Sasuke! You're awake!" She cried, rushing to hug him. No sooner did he find his face jammed uncomfortably into her shoulder, his nose digging into her collarbone, did he register dripping wetness onto his gown.

"I was so worried," she blubbered. "I thought you were going to die."

"It takes more than some stab wound to take me out," he tried to joke. "My dad's a cop, remember?"

It kind of worked, because her back shuddered with some kind of whining chuckle.

"Glad to see you awake, Sasuke," Kakashi came up next, pulling up a chair next to his bed. He looked a little exhausted, but other than that, he kept smiling at him.

"How long have I been out?" He asked, turning his head so that he could look at his teacher.

"Mm, only about a day or so." He shrugged way too nonchalantly for the Uchiha's tastes. "You were lucky that you had help, though."

"Was it bad?" The boy winced.

"Had Naruto not been there, I don't think we could've gotten you help," Sakura sniffled, letting go so she could look at his face. She had a watery smile as she brushed some of his hair away from his damp skin. "Neither Karin nor I would have been strong enough to carry you back."

He nodded slowly, Sakura's weepy state setting off some kind of uncomfortable feeling in his heart. He flexed his right hand and saw that he could move it (albeit a bit sluggishly), so he slowly lifted it to wipe away her tears.

She closed her eyes, holding his hand to her cheek. "I'm so glad you're awake," she repeated into his skin.

"Hey, that reminds me," Kakashi suddenly piped up. "Sakura made all three of you little friendship necklaces."

"That sounds cheesy, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto retorted.

"It's really not," Sakura chimed in, letting go of Sasuke in order to fish around in her pocket. She pulled out three little necklaces made of leather string and metal clasps on the back, having a tiny knot in-between the two little gemstones that hung from the center. (Basically going: Knot, gemstone, knot, gemstone, knot)

She handed Sasuke the one with the red and orange stones, Kakashi handed Naruto the one with the red and blue stones, and Sakura kept the one with the orange and blue stones.

"See?" She said, showing them the gems. "The gemstones are in the color that we usually wear. Red for me, orange for Naruto, and blue for Sasuke."

"These turned out super cool, Sakura-chan!" Naruto cheered, clasping his around his neck. "It matches Granny's necklace!"

"Impressive," Sasuke said, running his finger over the little colored stones. He looked up at her in amazement. "You made these?"

"I did," she confirmed with a bashful nod. "Kakashi-sensei helped me buy the supplies from the camp store."

"Put them on, kids. I want a picture." Kakashi chuckled, pulling out his phone.

Sakura clasped hers around her neck and helped Sasuke with his. The stones felt a little cold against his heated skin, but he admired the look of them against the bland white of the hospital gown.

Sakura squatted in front of the bedside table between both beds and wrapped her arms around both of their shoulders, beaming at the camera.

"Everybody smile!" Kakashi instructed. "Say 'Ninja'!"

* * *

When Sasuke next awoke, he felt way too sticky. His mind was fogged, as it was after an impromptu afternoon nap in the summer.

He looked up to see Naruto sitting up in bed, reading some popular series of Shonen Jump manga.

"What happened after the picture?" He asked groggily, feeling his forehead. The washcloth that had fallen off when he sat up was still a little damp, so he pressed it back to his skin with his good arm.

Naruto briefly looked up before going back to his book. "Oh, Kakashi-sensei left with Sakura to go find the weirdo."

"What?" Sasuke asked, hurt creeping into his tone for a moment before pushing it away and replacing it with frustration. He sagged against the wall, frowning. "I should have gone with them."

Shizune came in at that moment with a new glass of water, taking his washcloth.

"You should have more faith in your teammate," she gently chastised with a patient smile. "Sakura is stronger than you might think."

"Yeah! She's awesome!" Naruto echoed, putting down the book. "Remember that time a few days ago when she totally kicked Kakashi-sensei in the berry patch for sneaking up on her? Imagine her doing that, but like, times a thousand, and to whoever's going around taking people!"

Shizune helped the Uchiha take a drink of water, and she made sure to set it on the table next to the wall so he could reach for it easily.

Sasuke simply lay back down with a frustrated look on his face.

 _"Of course I know she can do it,"_ he thought to himself. _"Hell, theoretically any of us could easily take down the creep if we had a little luck. But... but I don't want to lose her."_

 _"She could get taken - or worse- really easily, especially if Kakashi-sensei isn't there..."_ he was drifting off to sleep, even though he wanted to stay awake. _"If she got kidnapped... I..."_

His brain swirled with fog for a second before the sound of Naruto sniffling as he turned another page in his book brought the boy back to clarity again.

_"... I know I told myself that I'd forget it, but... I really, really don't want to watch someone die again."_

His eyelids were too heavy to stay open, and at last he begrudgingly closed them.

_"Please, Sakura... kick that creep's ass... for me..."_


	30. The Waterfall's Mystery

"It was this way," Sakura directed, cutting a path through the brush.

"Are you sure?" Tenten asked, nervously glancing around. "It looks pretty creepy over there..."

"Hinata-san said to look for the headband," Lee shrugged. "And Sakura-chan would have no reason to lie to us, would she?"

"Of course not." She huffed, slightly offended.

Kakashi glanced back over his shoulder. "Keep it moving," he called. "No getting separated."

As soon as they got to the branch, Gai hummed.

"Ah! I see how they have managed to evade notice!" He appreciatively exclaimed, grabbing it and pulling it up. As he peered underneath it, he nodded in approval. "Very stealthy."

"Unfortunately, it looks like they won't be hidden for much longer," Kakashi added, frowning as he ushered the kids inside.

Once everyone was under, Lee, Tenten, Gai, and Kakashi stared in awe at the massive waterfall in the small clearing.

"And you said there's a _passage_?" Tenten gaped, pointing at the mass. "Behind _that?_ "

"Yes." Sakura nodded. "There's a whole other cave on the other side that we weren't able to explore yet."

"Shut. Up." The brunette shook her head in disbelief.

Karin and Sakura exchanged worried looks before they turned to Kakashi.

"Can you come with us?" Karin asked. "Since the boys aren't here, we'd feel safer with an adult."

"Of course." Kakashi nodded firmly. "I wouldn't dream of leaving you behind. Not when the one who poisoned Naruto and Sasuke is still out there."

He turned to Gai. "You and your campers stay behind to guard this place. We don't want any stragglers."

Gai nodded. "Got it."

"Aw man, I hate guard duty," Tenten grumbled under her breath. Regardless, she parked herself by some trees and stood there, kunai in hand.

Lee grasped Sakura's hands and gazed worriedly into her eyes. "Please be safe," he pleaded.

"Don't worry," she said, mirroring his expression. "We will."

"If ya need anything, just holler and I'll come running!" Tenten called out.

Kakashi chuckled. "Always the spitfire," he commented. "Well, let's head inside."

The girls led him to the waterfall, where they found the stone path. Kakashi's eyebrows rose, but otherwise he kept silent. Sakura turned on her phone's flashlight and went in first, warning him about the walls.

It didn't take long for them to hurry through, and before they knew it, they were in the same grassy area they'd come to when Sasuke had collapsed.

"It's new territory from this point on," Karin said, pointing out the well-lit cave beyond.

Kakashi inspected the cave and frowned. "Hmm... it doesn't look very safe..."

"We can do it," Sakura implored. "You could... uh... keep watch?"

He shot her a look of disbelief. "You mean you want _me_ , the only adult, to stay behind and-" He paused to add air quotes, "'keep watch' while you two traipse through an unknown cave." He said slowly.

Both girls paused.

"Well, when you say it like _that,_ " Karin sighed.

He shook his head. "Just yell if you need anything," he relented tiredly. "I suppose it wouldn't do if something happened to the cave entrance, or if someone had the bright idea to follow you in."

"Thank you, sensei." Sakura smiled gratefully as she hugged him. "I promise that we'll be careful!"

He merely waved them off and watched as they entered the cave.

* * *

It was damp and kind of weird-smelling in the cave.

Sakura held the collar of her shirt to her nose to try and get away from the smell, and Karin pulled out a handkerchief to do the same.

"What is this place?" The redhead asked, her voice slightly muffled by the fabric.

"I don't know," the pinkette replied with a shudder. "But it gives me the creeps."

As they walked, they came across a split in the path. One led to the right, the other to the left. The one to the right was a bit dimmer than the main path.

Both girls looked to each other for a moment.

"So... I guess we'll split up?" Karin sheepishly suggested.

"As much as my instincts are screaming at me not to, sure," Sakura slowly replied.

They gave each other a quick handshake and a muttered "good luck" before parting ways.

Sakura turned her phone's flashlight back on again, only this time to the dimmest setting. She glanced around at the narrow walls. They were fairly jagged, so they most likely weren't man-made. But then again, who knew just how long someone had been here for? If they'd found ways to mount torches onto the rocky walls, then perhaps they'd been here a bit too long.

After a few minutes of walking, she noticed that the path was growing lighter.

"The exit!" She whispered to herself, picking up her pace. She nearly jogged to the end of the hallway and turned a corner, out of which she stepped onto a dirt path.

"Whoa." Her jaw dropped at the scenery. She must have been looking at the very backside of the island, because the water seemed to go on for miles with no land in sight. The waves gently lapped at the sandy shores of a beach below, and the dirt path went past the cave to the left, where it abruptly stopped at a little wooden shack. Perhaps it was some kind of storage shack abandoned by whoever had been here before Tsunade.

She frowned when she saw it. It was inconspicuous enough, but something didn't feel right. For one thing, every window was boarded up, except for the skylight on the slanted roof. The second, even the door had a large beam of wood covering the bottom so that no one could get in.

It was odd. Odd and disturbing.

She shuddered, rubbing the goosebumps on her arms as she walked towards the shack. As she went, something flashed in her eye from her left, and she hissed, rubbing her eye.

She stepped backwards so that it wasn't beaming into her eye, and she looked down, only to find some underbrush, as if someone had deliberately cut away the forest floor to make a footpath.

She frowned, seeing something black near some rocks. She squatted down beside the green and slowly brushed away a couple of leaves.

She gasped and pulled out a cell phone. "No way!"

Although the screen was cracked in a couple of places, when she pressed the home button, it turned on just fine, revealing the familiar lock screen of Ino's cell.

She and Ino beamed at her from the screen, some photo from a band competition a couple of years ago or something.

She turned the phone over, seeing the familiar sheer purple case with a lavender bow at the top, with the name Yamanaka written in sparkly, pale blue gel ink. It was the purple case she'd gotten for her birthday the year before; she remembered Ino taking one of her glitter pens to it as soon as she put it on her phone.

"This must mean..." She looked up at the shack, her anger bubbling. "... whoever took Ino has her in there!"

She got to her feet and started to walk towards the shack, but at the last moment, something stopped her. She got a really uneasy feeling about it, almost as if something was waiting to jump out. She took out her own phone and snapped a panorama shot of the area and sent it to Ino's phone, just in case. She shivered again and turned, running back to the cave.

As soon as she got to the split in the path, she almost ran into Karin, who seemed to have the same idea.

"We need to get out of here, now," Karin said, her eyes wide. Something had spooked her, and Sakura didn't want to hang around long enough to find out what it was. "Something is horribly wrong here. I think I saw the guys behind this whole thing, and if we don't run, we'll be discovered."

"Don't need to tell me twice, let's go." Sakura glanced back at the path before taking off with Karin.

* * *

As soon as they burst out of the cave, Kakashi looked over from where he was leaning against the rock face.

He smiled at them. Way too casually for either girl's taste. "Oh, you're back. What did you find?"

"It was crazy, Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura burst before she could think. "It was this long pathway in there! And then- and then-"

"All we got was a dead end," Karin sighed, subtly squeezing Sakura's shoulder in warning. "All that, for nothing."

"Gee, that's too bad." Kakashi sighed lightly, gently placing a hand on their shoulders to steer them away. "Well, we might as well get back to camp and check in on Sasuke."

For the briefest of moments, his eyes flashed with something that made Sakura glance up at him with concern.

She turned to look at Karin, who simply shook her head and mouthed, "Tell you later."


	31. Kakashi Acts Weird Around Nurses

As soon as Sakura walked into Naruto and Sasuke's room, not even the happy expressions of her friends could ease her mood.

"Hey, Sakura!" Naruto chirped. "Find anything?"

She turned sharply, only to sag in relief that Kakashi-sensei wasn't in yet. She turned back to her friends, whispering, "Can you guys keep a secret?"

Sasuke frowned, sitting up straighter. "What happened?"

"I... I think something's wrong with Kakashi-sensei," she explained in a hushed voice. "It feels like he's... not himself."

At that moment, Kakashi walked in with Shizune, all smiles with her.

"You're looking very nice today," he complimented.

Naruto's eyebrows rose to his hairline. _"Kakashi-sensei's voice is so... smooth! And high! Did he age in reverse or something?"_

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. _"Kakashi-sensei has never given a woman the time of day... so why now? And with the nurse? Is he wanting to make Director Tsunade go after him for flirting with her niece?"_

"Oh, why," Shizune stammered with a nervous laugh. "Thank you, Hatake-sensei. That's very kind of you."

"Please, call me Kakashi." He pulled up a chair and turned his pleasant face to Sasuke. "How have you been? Healing up okay?"

"I'm fine," Sasuke said shortly. _"Geez... what's with this guy? All cool and aloof one minute, then acting like Itachi the next?"_

"Hey, what about me?" Naruto asked, a big beaming grin on his face.

Kakashi seemed visibly surprised to see Naruto sitting upright in the bed next to Sasuke's for a split-second, but his face changed so fast it genuinely made Sakura believe she'd imagined it. A sharp, bewildered glance from Sasuke, however, convinced her that he'd seen it too.

"Oh, of course," he smoothly replied. "Sorry, I haven't been feeling well for a few hours. How have you been?"

"It's boring as hell being stuck in here," Naruto grumbled. "But at least we get to get more sleep."

The silver-haired man laughed heartily, and Sasuke frowned, allowing Sakura to take his hand. He looked over at her and she rose her eyebrows, almost as if saying, _"See? He's weird!"_

"Uh, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura piped up, catching his attention, "could I maybe spend the night at Tenten's cabin?"

He frowned. Did he suddenly have less of a forehead crease now? "I don't know... I do need you for important tasks later..."

"I'll be on my best behavior!" She promised, training her puppy eyes on him. Something about the way he'd said it made her stomach twist. "Please?"

"Oh, very well," he capitulated, reaching out to pat her shoulder. (It took everything in her not to flinch back.)

He stood up, smiling at Shizune again. "Mind if I come by later?" He asked.

"Why? Have you gotten inflicted with the venom too?" She looked worried as she reached to press the back of her hand to his forehead. "You don't feel warm..."

"Don't worry so much, I haven't gotten attacked." He assured, taking her wrist and gently lowering it. "I meant as a casual visit."

"You can visit your students any time, Hatake-sensei," she replied amusedly, shaking her head. "You know that."

"No no, I mean for _you_." He seemed to wink at her. "Dinner?"

"Oh, well uh, I'm really quite busy right now," she shook her head a little quicker than normal. "I apologize. Maybe I'll take you out when the week is over?"

"Yes, I'd like that." Kakashi seemed placated with that and got up to leave.

At that moment, Sasuke had gotten the pencil he'd been given and sneakily aimed, rearing his arm back to throw.

A moment later, the pencil hit its mark, and Kakashi let out a noise of surprise at feeling the lead tip on his neck.

When he turned around, pencil in hand, Sasuke shrugged his shoulders.

"Sorry," he blandly said, gesturing to his arm. "I accidentally threw it and you were in the way."

"Mistakes happen," Kakashi agreed in a deadpan voice. He dropped the pencil onto the blankets and left with scarcely a wave to his students.

Shizune threw them a concerned frown, but didn't say a word as she left the room.

"Geez, you're right!" Naruto whistled. "Kakashi-sensei's friggin' _weird_ now!"

"What the hell happened to him when you were out searching today?" Sasuke demanded, bending to pick up his pencil.

"I don't know!" Sakura exclaimed. "Karin and I left him on watch for maybe about ten to twenty minutes..."

"Would it even be possible for someone to take care of him in that amount of time?" Naruto asked incredulously. "I mean, it's _Kakashi-sensei_. He's got some of the best reflexes I've ever seen! Remember when Kiba tried to trip him after dinner and he totally flipped him on his back?"

"And he wouldn't go out without a fight," Sasuke agreed, frowning. "Surely one of you would have heard the struggle and come to investigate."

"Well, whatever happened, it _happened_ , and now I'm worried." Sakura heaved a heavy sigh, slumping over in the chair. "What if the kidnapper dressed up as him? What if I'm next?"

"Well now he knows you plan to stay at Gai-sensei's." Naruto shrugged. "That'll just make it easier, if he's the creep."

"You need to make a plan C," the noiret advised. "Maybe stay at another staff member's cabin."

"But that's just it," she responded, holding her head in her hands. "Tsunade-sama said that we can't stay at any cabin of any non-counselor. It's the rules."

For a moment, Sasuke regarded her with stunned disbelief. Then he said, "I'm fairly sure this calls for breaking the rules at this point."

"Yeah! Screw that!" Naruto agreed emphatically. "If Kakashi-sensei's actin' weird, Tsunade-baa-chan should understand that you're scared and let you break the rules just this once!"

Sakura let out a pensive sigh, one that made Naruto grab her hand and squeeze.

"Don't worry, Sakura-chan!" He encouraged with a big grin. "If this Kakashi-sensei impostor-guy makes a move on you, then I'll break outta here and beat 'im up myself! Believe it!"

Sasuke snorted, which made the blond shoot him a glare.

"Don't act like you wouldn't, too!" He accused. "You like Sakura-chan just as much as I do, 'ttebayo!"

"I haven't a clue about what you're talking about, loser," Sasuke replied coolly, with all of the nonchalance in the world.


	32. Karin's Phone Acquires Sakura's Number

"Gai-sensei?" Tenten asked that night. "What the heck is wrong with Hatake-sensei?"

The bushy-browed man frowned to himself. "Kakashi isn't acting like himself," he replied. "But why, I have no clue."

"I don't think I've seen him smile once," Lee shivered. "And if he has, it feels off - predatory, even."

Gai nodded slowly. "I don't think I've seen him flirt with Shizune for years. I thought he moved on from that, but... perhaps not?"

"Hatake-sensei had a thing for Nurse Shizune?" Tenten echoed, wrinkling her nose. "First off, _how_? Second, _why_?"

"It's... not exactly my place to tell," their teacher coughed awkwardly. "But as far as I understand... he has a... thing? Perhaps Obito rubbed off on him while he was in the hospital after camp that one year..."

"Eww." Tenten nearly gagged. "Oh my Kami. _Eww_. What the hell. I did _not_ need that image, thank you."

"I can't kinkshame it," Lee shrugged, looking, for the most part, unbothered, save for the slightest twitch of his eye. "It's present day. I've seen weirder. Like Neji's, for example."

"I don't wanna know!" Tenten cried, covering her ears.

Thankfully for the three, a sudden knock at the door interrupted their discussion of Kakashi and Neji's, er, _preferences_.

"I got it!" Tenten volunteered quickly, jumping up to answer it.

She opened the door and frowned. "Sakura? What are you doing here this late?"

"No time to tell the full story," she answered, glancing over her shoulder rapidly. "Will you help me with something? I'm worried about Kakashi-sensei."

"Why? Is he hurt?" Gai was up immediately, a look of concern written all over his face.

She looked past Tenten to him with a pleading look. "Kakashi-sensei isn't himself, and I have a horrible feeling that something will happen to me if I stay in my cabin for the night."

"Of course you can, Sakura-chan!" Lee exclaimed, looking up at Gai for agreement. "We can protect her here, right?"

"Wait just a minute, Lee," Gai replied. "Sakura, you may wanna come in for this discussion."

She gratefully stepped in, and Tenten shut the door behind her.

"Alright, now why are you afraid?" He asked. "Has Kakashi been hurt?"

"He hasn't been himself at all lately," she admitted with a shudder. "I've never, ever seen him be sweet around Nurse Shizune, and something about him just generally seems off. He gives off this dangerous aura."

Tenten and Lee gave each other a glance.

"Well, you'd absolutely free to spend the night here," Gai said, scratching the back of his neck. "You'd have to share a room with Tenten, but..."

"Thank you. Just for tonight," she said, sagging against the wall in relief. "I promise I won't be too much trouble."

"Trouble? You? Oh Sakura," Gai chuckled, patting her head. "I have no worries about you. It's more... worrying about my best friend's safety."

She grew quiet for a few moments and nodded her head. "Yeah... I know what that feels like," she admitted, wrapping her arms around herself.

* * *

Later that night, while she and Tenten were getting ready for bed, her phone chimed.

Tenten frowned, in the process of untying her twin buns. "Who's that?"

Sakura inspected the message with a frown. "It's Karin. Weird. She didn't tell me that she was gonna text tonight. I didn't even think she cared about me."

"Well, what's she want?" Tenten asked, sitting down on her bed next to the pinkette. She peered over, reading silently.

"It just says that she has some urgent news and that I need to meet her somewhere." Sakura frowned at the phone. "Something about this feels off. I don't remember ever giving her my number."

"Well ask her for a selfie!" The brunette offered, her hair falling to her shoulders as she took out the hairtie. She smoothed it down, threading her fingers through it some. She winced as her fingers caught on a few knots, and she reached over for her brush.

After a minute, a picture appeared. It was of Karin next to Juugo, supposedly on the couch in their cabin.

"It... _looks_ legit," Sakura said, concerned. She looked over. "What do you think?"

Tenten glanced over it for a second before she stopped, staring weirdly at it. "Wait. Zoom in on her hand."

Sakura did as told and her face scrunched up into a frown. "Wait a minute..."

Karin had gotten a few scars on her hands from falling arms-first in a berry bush a couple of days ago, yet in this picture there was no blood nor scars to be seen. The tanned skin there was totally smooth.

"This isn't recent," she realized. "This must've been on her first night here! Look - in the background!"

"That must be Suigetsu," Tenten guessed, when they both saw a hint of silvery hair on the corner of the screen. Based on the dimensions of the photo, it was obvious that whoever this was had cropped him out, but they'd somehow missed the very ends of his hair.

"I don't like this," Sakura groaned. "What do we do now?"

"Ask them to meet us by the flower patch on the main road to the cabins," Tenten instructed. She got up from her bed, walking to the door. "I'm gonna tell Gai-sensei."

"You're not serious about meeting them, are you?" Sakura asked, alarmed. "You do know that's horror movie rule number one, right?"

"Relax, we're gonna stake it out." Tenten scoffed, giving her a grin as she pulled out a shuriken. "You don't honestly think I'm gonna let us get kidnapped, do you? We just need to get lucky and have them show up after we do, take a photo, then get outta dodge."

Still uneasy, the pinkette nodded and sent the text as Tenten exited.

After a moment, she came back in, pulling on her jacket. "Gai-sensei said we can go," she explained. "But just as long as we're extra careful."

"Got it." Sakura nodded, pocketing her phone for the meantime. She grabbed her jacket from atop her backpack and they both went to the front door.

They slipped on their shoes and left, saying goodbye to Gai, who was reading a book on the couch.

As they went along the path, Sakura's phone lighting the way, they remained silent.

It took a couple of minutes, but they at last came to the main square, and hid behind a few trees, turning off the flashlight on Sakura's phone. They waited for a few minutes.

"What's taking them?" Tenten whispered, frustrated.

"Maybe some boys took Karin's phone and catfished us," Sakura mumbled.

They waited for a minute more, before they heard someone's shoes crunching up the path.

Sakura looked up and gasped quietly, grabbing the girl's sleeve. "Tenten!"

They watched as Karin appeared around the corner, looking concerned about something. Her eyes darted back and forth, and she grumbled under her breath, "Oh, now where could it have gotten to...?"

Sakura and Tenten stepped out from behind the tree and the girl looked up, alarmed for a split-second, before she looked relieved.

"Sakura, uh, hi," she greeted, stuffing her hands in her shorts pockets. "What are you doing here?"

Both girls looked at each other with twin looks of dread.

Beat.

"Uh..." Sakura said intelligently, fumbling for a few moments before she finally replied, "Now you have my phone number?"

This time, Karin looked more confused. "What are you talking about?"

Sakura pulled out her phone and showed her the texts, and the redhead's face went from puzzlement to horror.

"Oh no, I knew this would happen," she groaned, pulling her glasses down to rub her eyes. When she looked up again, she was more upset.

"What happened? What do you mean?" Tenten asked.

"Someone took my phone earlier while I was in the bathhouse, and I've been out here looking for it," she answered irritably, glancing past them to the path. "Of all the rotten luck I've had this trip, this about tops it. My mom isn't even done paying it off yet!"

Sakura gave a tiny sigh, hesitating for a moment before reaching into her pocket.

"Karin, I'm gonna give you something, and when I do, you need to promise me that you won't show it to anyone." She began seriously, staring her right in the eye. "I'm serious. Don't you dare show anyone you have this."

"What are you talking about? Do you have contraband?" She asked, raising her eyebrows. "I wouldn't expect that from you."

"No, not _contraband_." She shook her head, pulling out Ino's cell phone. " _This_."

"That's...!" The words died on the redhead's tongue as Sakura handed her the phone. "Why do you have this?"

"Let's just say I picked up a souvenir on the road," she said, giving a wry chuckle. "No one knows that I have it, and in case we have a spy among us, not even the adults should know."

Karin gazed at the phone solemnly, watching it shimmer in the meager lamplight. "What do you want me to do with this?"

"Use it to contact me, what else?" She joked for a moment, before she went back to gazing intensely at her. "The passcode is 0415. It's... the day we met for the first time."

"If I remember right, my name is under the name 'Forehead', capital F," she continued to explain as Karin opened the phone and went to the contacts app. Sure enough, 'Forehead' along with a grinning emoji popped up. Karin laughed a bit at the contact picture, Sakura's front-facing profile with some shonen anime character's face photoshopped in, and tapped it. Sakura's number popped up, along with a small note of _"Yare yare daze, forehead-kun!"_

"Don't ask, it's an inside joke," Sakura groaned when she saw it. "Can't believe she kept that in. Anyways, use this to text me or call me if you need to. Remember: DO NOT let anyone know you have that."

"I promise," Karin pledged, turning off the phone and holding it to her chest. "You can count on me. For Ino's sake."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Headcanon: Sakura can pull off the signature 'Jojo face'... and nails Joseph's "OMG".


	33. Threatening Messages

Later in the night, Tenten and Sakura were lying in their beds when suddenly, her phone chimed.

She rolled over and reached for it. She squinted at the screen for a moment before her eyes went wide and she sat up. "Tenten."

"What?" The girl asked tiredly.

"Karin's phone texted me again." She replied, and as Tenten quickly got up she showed her the text.

_"Stay right where you are Sherlock, I'm coming to get you"_

"Holy shit, 'Kura, this is creepy." Tenten gasped. "Let's go tell Gai-sensei. This could get really serious."

Sakura nodded dumbly, and Tenten pulled her to the bedroom door.

"I know he's usually doing a last-minute workout in his room before bed," the brunette mumbled to herself as they crossed the room and knocked on Gai-sensei's door.

After a few moments, the man opened it, a white tank top on. He looked like he was slightly sweating, but he smiled at them. "What do you need?"

Wordlessly, Sakura showed him the text, and his smile instantly vanished.

"Do you need to go to Ms. Senju?" He asked, and when she nodded again, he disappeared into his room for a moment and appeared again, this time with a jacket.

"Let's hurry," he said. "Tenten, I'm afraid you need to stay here."

"I understand." She was glaring at the ground. She looked up at Sakura and hugged her tight for a few seconds. "Get that creepy bastard, Sakura. And get a good kick in for me!"

* * *

A little while later, Gai was knocking on Tsunade's apartment door with a fidgety Sakura behind him, messing with her sleeves.

Tsunade answered a moment later, looking irritated. "You'd better have a good-"

She paused when she saw Sakura behind him, and she asked, "Sakura? Are you hurt?"

"I have good reason to think she's being stalked by whoever's behind this, Senju-sama," Gai replied. "Sakura, do you want to show her the messages?"

She nodded and pulled out her phone, showing the older woman the messages.

Very quickly, her frown deepened and she was glaring daggers at the phone.

"And you're positive this isn't some mean-spirited prank?" She asked, bending her knees so that she and Sakura were a little closer in height.

Sakura nodded her head mutely.

"I've already called the other cabins," Gai offered. "None reported any phone thieves among them."

"That creepy mother _fu_ -" She paused for a moment, taking a deep breath. When she exhaled, she opened her eyes and looked at Gai. "You were right to bring her here, thank you."

"It's my duty, ma'am." He gave her a nod. "And I'm sure you're aware of my concerns about Kakashi?"

"Very much so." She agreed. She then looked to Sakura, who was pocketing her phone with a troubled look on her face. "Sakura, you can stay with me tonight."

"Thank you, Aunt Tsunade," she said in a quiet, defeated voice. "I'm sorry to intrude."

Without much more conversation, Tsunade let the girl in and thanked Gai once more, sending him off.

Then she turned, watching Sakura pull off her backpack and lean it against the couch.

"You seem more troubled than usual," she observed, walking over to sit next to the girl. She allowed Sakura to immediately lean into her, threading her fingers through the girl's cotton candy hair. "What happened when you went with Kakashi to the forest?"

* * *

_"Tag! You're it!" Sakura exclaimed joyfully as she darted away from Naruto. The two of them were playing tag in the forest, along with her friends and Sasuke, but they were somewhere up the path._

_"Dammit, you got me again!" He yelled. "You're more fit than me, it isn't fair!"_

_She cackled like mad, running ahead of him. "You're just gonna have to catch me, then! Burn off that ramen!"_

_He found himself laughing with her, chasing after her as they went down the dirt path._

_After a few moments, he tagged her, exclaiming in joy, before falling to the grass in exhaustion. She kept standing, panting heavily a couple of feet away._

_"You're- too fast," he wheezed, holding his chest as he sat up. "Do you do this in your sleep or something?"_

_She gave a strange smile as she walked backwards. "No, but you'd be surprised."_

_As he got up to get away, she turned and ran further down the path._

_"Sakura, where are you going?" He shouted after her. "You're supposed to tag me, remember?"_

_She gave no answer, and try as he might to try and catch up with her, within a minute he was down on the ground again, gasping for air._

_"Damn..." he groaned. "Sakura!"_

_Still no answer. The forest was eerily quiet. He couldn't hear the birds chirping anymore, nor even the leaves rustling._

_"Sakura?" He shouted again, looking around warily. "C'mon, you're it! The joke isn't funny anymore, come back!"_

_There was no reply._

_He could swear he heard a voice, muddled, as if being heard through water. "Naruto... help me..."_

_He shot up to his feet, panic flooding his body._

_"... Naruto..."_

_"Sakura! This isn't funny!_ Sakura _!"_

* * *

"Sakura!" Naruto shouted, his eyes snapping open.

He sat up in a panic, breathing hard as he looked around wildly.

Sasuke was still unconscious, even as he tried to wake him by calling his name.

"Sasuke, dude, wake up!" He insisted. "Teme!"

After a moment, their door opened and Shizune appeared, looking tired but alarmed. "Naruto, what's wrong?"

"It's Sakura-chan," he explained, finally calming his breathing. He was still tense, though, even as the nurse came to his bedside. "I had a nightmare... we were playing tag in the forest, and she just... ran off. She disappeared!"

"Oh, Naruto," she soothed, running a hand through his hair. "It's alright. Sakura's just fine. In fact, she's probably sleeping soundly right now!"

He didn't seem to buy it, so she sighed.

"Would you like me to call Hatake?" She offered. "He can tell you that she's just fine-"

"No," Naruto blurted, looking panicked. "Please don't tell K- Sensei."

She paused then, and gave him a confused look. "O...kay?"

"Sorry, Nurse Shizune," he said, rubbing his eye. "But don't tell him. I don't want to... bother him this late at night?"

She trained her eyes on him for a few moments, eyebrow raised, making him squirm in bed. Finally, she relaxed her stance and patted him on the shoulder gently.

"All right," she relented, "but I'm calling him if you have another nightmare. Okay?"

"Okay, thank you," he replied as she checked Sasuke briefly before leaving the room.

He lay down, letting out a long, exhausted sigh. He stared at the ceiling for a while, thinking to himself.

 _"The dream seemed so real,"_ he mused, closing his eyes. _"I'm worried about her... but I don't wanna tell whoever that is about it. Something doesn't feel right about it."_

He squeezed his eyes shut tighter. "Sakura-chan, _please be okay!"_


	34. Taken 2: Electric Boogaloo

Meanwhile, out in the forest, Sakura crept along the path with Karin and Juugo.

"Are you sure this is okay?" Juugo asked nervously, glancing around. "Is Senju-sama okay with this?"

"I've already told her about where I'm going," came the reply. Sakura's eyes didn't deviate from the path, her phone lighting the way. "And I've brought you two because I'll need backup if I happen to go missing."

"Please don't talk about that," Karin pleaded. "You _are_ coming back with us, whether you like it or not."

"In the off-chance, I suppose we could be your backup," the orange-haired boy reluctantly agreed.

The three of them wandered down the path, not saying a word. For Karin, she was too nervous, for Juugo, he was busy keeping watch, and for Sakura, she was determinedly keeping her lips shut.

As they neared the tree, she grabbed the branch and yanked upwards, not going through until both of them had. As soon as they were all under, she walked towards the waterfall cave.

Juugo gazed about in wonder. "Whoa. This was back here?"

"Yeah," Sakura nodded briskly. "I need you to stay behind and keep watch. Do you have a flashlight?"

"Better. I have my phone." He pulled it out and turned on the flashlight.

"Perfect. Karin, you come with me." She instructed, and the two of them trekked through the cave.

As soon as they were both on the other side, Karin glanced about nervously.

"Are you sure you wanna do this now?" She asked.

Sakura paused in her step and gave her an intense stare. "I've got the evidence, Karin. Tsunade knows where I am, and in case I don't make it we're gonna put a stop to this once and for all."

Reluctantly, the redhead agreed, and they went into the next cave.

Fittingly, the wall sconces weren't lit, and so they relied only on their phones - or in Karin's case, Ino's - for light. They made the right turn that Sakura had before, and walked down the long hallway. As soon as they got to the end, they exited out onto the pathway above the beach.

Karin's eyes went wide with surprise when she saw the waves slowly crawling up the sand. "I had no idea this was here!"

"The shack is still there," Sakura observed. Then she backed them both up. "And there's someone talking...!"

Indeed, when they both peeked around they noticed two shadows in the moonlight, conversing about something.

"What are they talking about?" Karin asked in a quiet whisper.

"I dunno," Sakura replied, switching off her flashlight. She quietly pulled up the camera app and rose it to get a few pictures. "But whoever they are, they must be the ones in charge."

As soon as she snapped a photo, she thought she saw one of them look over. For some reason, although she couldn't see even the color of their skin, she saw twin red flashes of light for a moment. _"Those must be their eyes... strange, they remind me of Sasuke's for some reason."_

"Hey, they look like those guys I overheard in the other cave," Karin recognized softly. "Weird... I don't think eyes are supposed to look like that."

Sakura quickly pulled up her messages, sending the photos to Tsunade. She frowned when she saw a familiar fan flashing up on the back of one of them in the picture. _"Is that-- is that Sasuke's family's crest? Why on earth...?"_

Shaking that off, she turned to Karin, mouthing, "Let's get out of here."

The redhead nodded and went back into the cave.

Sakura went to follow her, but right at the last second, when Karin was already around the corner, she felt a firm, slender hand grip her shoulder.

She let out a piercing shriek of fear as she was pulled back into the darkness, kicking against her captor and fruitlessly reaching for the redhead.

The last glimpse of her that Karin caught was her hands as they disappeared around the corner before she bolted down the hall.

She ran faster than she'd ever had in her life, and as soon as she was out she made her way through the waterfall cave, uncaring if she scraped against the walls. Her arms were dotted with blood as she reached the end.

She burst out, panting for air as she skidded around and raced to Juugo.

"What's wrong?!" He asked, alarmed. He grabbed her bruised, cut arms to steady her. "Where's Sakura?"

"Taken," she gasped, glancing behind for a moment before her wild crimson eyes met his. "We need to go, _now_."

He didn't spend much more time agreeing before they turned and fled under the leafy cover of darkness.


	35. The Call to Arms

Immediately as soon as dawn greeted the island, Tsunade called an emergency meeting at the firepit with every counselor that was still in camp - save Kakashi and Adachi, Karin's teacher.

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen," Tsunade began, pacing about the stage. "As you're all aware, Sakura Haruno went missing last night. She was doing a little assignment for me, and unfortunately the creep stalking camp was able to get her."

"But!" She continued, quieting the murmuring about the adults, "She was able to give me photographic evidence of where the missing kids are. The other staff are still missing, but a reliable source was able to confirm with me that she thinks that they're close to the kids."

"A small group will be going with me to Sakura's last known location about an hour and a half after breakfast. Half of you will stay here to look after the kids, half of you will go. Some of you will keep watch, but most of you will be going with me to rescue them." Tsunade announced. "I've already made teams of you."

Gai raised his hand, and she called on him. "Yes."

"Can some of the kids come, as well?" He asked.

"Officially, no, they aren't planned to come," she said, giving a heavy sigh, "but knowing some of them, I won't stop them if they do. Alright, any more questions?"

* * *

Word spread fast through the camp. Gai told Lee and Tenten, who in turn told all of their friends at breakfast, who were then overheard by the surrounding tables, and it wasn't long before every single camper knew of what the adults were planning to do. Surprisingly, Tsunade hadn't even tried to keep it a secret. Tenten had texted Karin about it, using Ino's number, and Karin told all of her girl friends, who then told their friends, who then- well, you get the idea.

Even the ones in the infirmary heard of it. Neji delivered the news to Hinata, who was in earshot of Naruto and Sasuke (she'd been visiting with them in their room). Naruto immediately begged Shizune to go, but she declined for both of them, saying they were still recovering from the venom.

About an hour after breakfast was over, a large group of kids went to the meeting location of the adults with their packs in hand, demanding to go. Tsunade didn't say no, and fifteen minutes later saw a group of campers leading the adults through the forest, led in turn by Karin, Tenten, and Lee.

Hinata and Neji also tagged along, Hinata having begged Shizune to let her go in Naruto's stead. Shizune had been concerned, but she relented, telling Neji to keep an eye on her. Sasuke had privately asked her to rescue Sakura for them, and she agreed, pledging to rescue her "for you both... but especially for you, Sasuke-san." He immediately went tomato red and denied it, but she was already out the door with Neji, her smile hid behind her sleeve.

As soon as they got to the hidden forehead protector, Karin steered the group left, and a number of adults reacted with surprise that they'd missed it. They went for a ways until they reached the tree at the end of the path.

Tenten surprised them again by picking it up by the branch and lugging it up, telling them to go under. A staff member stepped up to relieve her of the duty, and as soon as the whole group was through, she followed them through as well.

"What is this place?" Kurenai gasped, clenching Asuma's hand tight. "Is this the way to the old retreat?"

"It must be," he replied, pointing to the waterfall. "Did you go through there?"

"Yes, they did," Lee confirmed.

"Son of a bitch," Asuma whistled, glancing over at Tsunade. "How long has it been since we've been canoeing to the back beach, Tsunade?"

"Too long," she agreed, frowning when she spotted something in the grass. "What's that...?"

She went towards it and squatted above it, picking it up by the red fabric. "This is Sakura's..."

When she turned it over, her eyebrows dipped low in a glare when she saw that the plate was stained red with something. Knowing why they were there, it was most definitely blood, whether it be Sakura's or the kidnapper's. A nauseated feeling made her heart plummet at the sight. "What the hell...?"

Rage began to brew in her stomach. _"What the hell happened here?! If Karin's account was true, did she get the drop on them...?"_

She recalled Karin's words from earlier. _"Director Tsunade, I heard her screamin_ _g_ _even after I left the waterfall. When I came back with Juugo the next morning, there was someone in the mouth of the waterfall cave, and we had to head back."_

An image of a lithe little preteenager kicking and punching her kidnapper with all of the strength in her tan, toned arms flickered past, and she grit her teeth in resolution.

She stood up, protector in hand, and barked, "You know the drill! Those of you whose duty is to stay back, stay here and keep watch!"

She whirled around and pointed her thumb at the waterfall. "You're with me! Let's get this sick bastard!"

A cheer went up from the kids in reply, throwing their fists to the sky in solidarity. The adults nodded, a fierce determination in their eyes, one born of the need to get their students and colleagues to safety.

She then surged towards the waterfall cave, leading the bigger kids and counselors toward it, the protector gripped tightly in her hand.

Hinata glanced to Neji, worried. He shook his head, gesturing for her to follow.


	36. Damsel in Shining Armor

The first thing that Sakura registered was that her back and jaw hurt. The second thing was that her side was stinging.

She opened her eyes drowsily, groaning out loud.

"What happened to me...?" She asked, sitting up with a grunt. She tried to use her arms to stabilize herself, but she quickly realized that they had been tied behind her back, and they were numb.

"Well, that's one explanation for the pain," she thought to herself as she looked around. There were other kids asleep in the room she was in, the hard wooden floor unpleasant on her butt as she shifted for a better position.

As she looked, she saw a familiar head of blonde hair just waking.

"Ino!" She gasped, inching over. "Holy shit, you're alive!"

Ino awoke quickly at the sound of her name, and when she saw Sakura her eyes went wide. "Sakura! They got you too?"

"Yeah, seems like it," she answered, wincing at the pain in her side when she tried to scoot over. "Damn, they must've gotten me with something."

Ino nodded, her eyes filling with tears. She scooted towards her too, and when they met in the middle, Ino rested her head on Sakura's shoulder.

"I'm so glad to see you," she hiccuped. "I was so scared I'd never get out of here alive."

"Me too," Sakura replied, feeling her own throat get choked up. She forced it down and asked, "What about the adults? Have you seen them?"

"Not at all," the blonde replied. "They're keeping them somewhere else, I think. They can't be far away."

"If they aren't dead yet," another voice piped up.

They turned to see a pale boy with black hair gazing at them from the wall. When they looked at him, he smiled, although it didn't feel genuine. He had a creepy feel about him, but also a kind of sad one, and it wasn't just because he was in clothes that were dirty and stained from his stint in the shack.

"Who's he?" Sakura whispered.

"That's Sai, one of the original missing," Ino whispered back.

"Yes, I was one of the first," he confirmed. "Beautiful's right."

Ino blushed a little at the compliment, but Sakura wasn't deterred.

"I saw that the skylight isn't boarded up." She said, eyes darting towards the ceiling. "Can we get it?"

"Believe me, we've tried," Sai answered with a light sigh. "The glass is reinforced. It didn't even crack, not even when the larger ones tried it."

"Damn." She hissed, glaring at the ground.

She looked around for a rock or something to cut the ropes with. Finally, she saw a sharp-looking one in the corner, and she scooted towards it. She took it with one of her hands (which were beginning to get blood flow back - having an appendage wake up hurt like a bitch), gritted through the static pain, handed it to Ino, and the two of them got to work trying to cut the rope.

* * *

Meanwhile, Hinata was worriedly standing by the cave. She'd been ordered to keep watch as the others went in to look around. Neji had reluctantly parted, but had made her promise to scream at the first sign of trouble.

Every second felt like a thousand as she fidgeted with the hem of her jacket.

Another boy seemed to notice this and walked over with a friendly smile.

"Don't look so worried," he chuckled, leaning against the rock with her. "They'll be fine."

She blushed a little from embarrassment and sighed. "I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize for it," the boy chastised, holding out a hand. "I'm Huichi Ushio. You?"

"Hinata Hyuuga," she replied, gingerly shaking it. It had a cold feeling to it, although she brushed it off, reasoning that all of them were cold. The wind was stronger here, and with it came chills down their backs.

"So, miss Hinata, why're you here?" He asked. "I thought you were still in the infirmary."

"I'm here on request. The boy I- well, a good friend."

"I see, I see." He chuckled, nodding in agreement. "He a good guy?"

"You could say that," she said distantly, glancing around. The others were on the other side of the cave entrance, and the other kids assigned to stay over here were busy playing tic-tac-toe in the dirt a fair way away. "He's... very important to me."

He nodded once more, and the weird look in his eye made her hair stand on end. Something felt off about him, but she brushed it off again. They were all worried for the missing ones, even if they didn't want to show it. He was probably thinking about someone he'd lost.

 _"I just hope I can save her, for him and for me,"_ she thought to herself with a light sigh. _"I kinda wish Huichi wouldn't stick so close to me... he's creeping me out."_


	37. Help From Unlikely Allies

"-yeah, that would be epic!"

Sasuke's eyebrows furrowed as he tried to hold onto that last bit of sleep. Too bad it was too difficult with Naruto blabbing to someone only a couple of feet away.

"Oh, really? You're serious? I haven't seen him in months! I'm sure Sasuke would love to see him!"

Sasuke sighed, finally opening his eyes. No use trying to get back to sleep now.

He looked over to see Naruto grinning with his phone to his ear. He could hear faint chatter as the boy began laughing. "No, probably not. It's so weird, I never see him get excited about the others like he does with his brother. Or his dad, for that matter!"

Naruto glanced over and his eyes lit up when he saw the irritable boy awake. He held up a finger, mouthing 'just a minute'.

"I'll see you when you get here, then?" He asked. He paused, listening to them. He grinned even wider. "Awesome! Okay, see you soon! Bye!"

The second he hung up, he turned to Sasuke. "Cool, you're awake again!"

"Who were you talking to?" The black-haired boy questioned.

"Oh, an old friend of my dad's," he said casually, setting his phone down on the bedside table. "She's coming with one of her friends to visit us today. It's awesome, because I haven't seen either of them in a long time! They only stop by a couple of times a year."

"That's... nice," Sasuke said awkwardly. He thought it was a bit weird, but he decided to humor Naruto anyway. "What's his friend's name?"

"Rin," Naruto answered cheerfully. "She said she's bringing one of your relatives with her to see Kakashi-sensei! They go way back, apparently!"

Sasuke paused. Then, incredulously, "You mean, Kakashi's old girl friend Rin? And my weird third cousin _Obito_?"

"You _do_ know him, then!" Naruto clapped his hands. "Perfect! Then it won't be awkward."

"Don't count on that," Sasuke retorted. "Ever since Obito got into the police force, he turned into this... weird, embarrassing caricature of your dad. He's too goofy for his profession."

As an afterthought, he followed it up with, "Honestly, Kakashi-sensei would be a better match, but I guess he just didn't want to. At least, that's what Obito said of him."

Speaking of Kakashi, Sasuke felt weirdly lonely. Sure, the man was practically psychic, and sure, he could get annoying always reading Naruto's godfather's porn 'novels' all the time, but he had a fatherly air about him, one that he hated to admit he missed. He kinda reminded him of someone that he could aspire to be... minus the blatant smut consuming in public. He doubted that even Naruto would do that.

"I hope we find Sensei soon," he admitted aloud. "The _real_ one."

Naruto went quiet for a few seconds, his face troubled. Finally, he looked up at him with a solemn nod.

"Me too," he agreed. "If not for us, for Granny. I can tell this is hurting her far more than we know."

* * *

A splash of water to his face made Kakashi's eyes snap open, and he gasped with the cold, pausing to cough.

The cloaked person that threw it at him laughed at him, and Kakashi leered at him.

"Who are you, and what do you want with me?" Kakashi demanded with a glare.

"Look at you, Hatake." A male's voice jeered. "You always acted like you were so heroic, like you were some kind of untouchable man. How the mighty fall! You let your guard down so quick it's like you were _asking_ to get caught!"

"Don't make me repeat myself," Kakashi warned dangerously.

Suddenly, a hand met his cheek and threw his head to the side in a slap. Kakashi inhaled sharply at the stinging pain, turning to glare harder at the attacker.

"You're in no position to boss me around, Hatake," his attacker warned in a low voice. "I mean, just look at what I've done to the others who crossed me!"

"The others? The staff?" Kakashi guessed, raising his head to look around. He saw about a dozen or more staff members tied to stalagmites around the room, most unconscious, but a couple with a dark red stain on their faces and on the rocks behind them. His stomach churned at the sight.

"You see? You can't escape me!" The man laughed once more. "I have you right where I want you; I've numbed your arms and legs so that even if you do somehow get free, you won't be able to get out of here alive. No no, I'll kill you before you manage."

Kakashi sighed weakly, looking up into the hood, trying to see even a glimpse of his face. Unfortunately, the man was wearing a black mask that matched the hood. The only hint was his hands, which were pale.

"What do you want with us?" He asked quietly. "What do you want with me?"

"I'll give you a hint, _Hatake_ ," the man spat, leaning in to whisper. "Revenge."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, hi, sorry for the delay on chapters! I had to go on a trip and I didn't get the Wifi I thought I was going to have. So you get three new chapters in a row, lucky you guys. Two tonight and one after midnight.


	38. Don't Mock Uzumaki Naruto in Front of Hyuuga Hinata

After a solid fifteen minutes of working, Sakura yanked her wrists apart and heard a satisfying snap. She glanced at her wrists and noticed that the rope was broken.

She fist-pumped with a hiss of " _Yesss_!"

She looked around at Ino. "You wanna go next?"

"Boy, would I ever!" She enthusiastically agreed, holding out her hands.

Sakura got to work, striking the sharp edge of the rock against the rope.

Across the shack, someone's phone dinged. When she looked up, she noticed Shikamaru among the number, boredly checking his phone.

"Oh, hey Shikamaru!" She greeted. "Is that help?"

Surprisingly, he nodded, walking over to show her. "Yeah. It's from my dad."

She peered at the screen, pausing for a moment in her work to read. "Shikamaru, help is coming", the text went.

"That's awesome!" She cheered, causing a couple of other kids to look towards them. "What happened?"

"He got ahold of the police force," Shikamaru replied, holding up the phone. "Luckily I just so happened to have my phone under my pillow when I was taken, and the bastards didn't take my phone when they nabbed me, so I texted both Ino's dad and my dad for help."

"And they got ahold of the police," she guessed. "In other words, Sasuke's family."

"Yeah, some of them." He briskly nodded, sitting back down. "They're bringing backup. Someone who's done this before."

"By 'this', what do you mean?" She asked, giving him air-quotes.

He looked around with a slight frown before leaning in. "Apparently, this has happened a time before," he murmured. "Back when Mr. Sarutobi was heading the camp."

"Oh," she said. She went back to ripping at the rope with the rock. "Hopefully it's not the same person."

"It can't be, because he's still in prison." Shikamaru said nonchalantly, leaning against the wall again.

She paused once more, thinking about it, before it hit her. "Ohhh! You mean Orochimaru?"

"That's the name." Ino chimed in. "My dad was stuck on that case for three weeks before they caught him running."

With that bit of information stringing her along, she went back to striking the rock with greater fervor, excited that help was coming.

"Will it come soon enough?" She thought. "I hope they can find us."

* * *

Tsunade held up a hand as they scoured the beach. She squinted, finding the shack to the left.

She turned to her posse. "Alright, you know what to do. We're to get the kids out, no matter what!"

Suddenly the hair on the back of her spine stood on end, her instincts began screaming at her to duck, and when she did, she narrowly missed a knife aimed straight for her neck.

She whirled around and met the blow with her own, pulling out a small bat she'd kept for emergencies.

"It's a trap!" Someone shouted, and enemies descended upon them. The kids darted around the adults, throwing shuriken, punching, and kicking at them.

One girl let loose a war scream as she kicked a guy in the crotch, and when he went down she jabbed him in the throat. He gurgled in surprise as he went down, holding his body in agony.

...

* * *

...

Hinata heard a commotion a ways away and tensed, looking around.

"What's going on...?" She wondered aloud.

Ushio began to fidget next to her, and when she turned to gaze into the cave, she was nearly stabbed in the back.

She turned in surprise, holding his arm tightly in her hand. "What are you doing?!"

"That's the signal," he answered, giving her a biting grin as he grabbed for her throat with his other hand.

"I don't understand!" She cried as the other kids began shouting, hinting that they were attacked. "Do you work for them?!"

"You could say that," he laughed as she blocked his hand. He chose that moment to yank his arm back, going in for another swipe. "I was never on your side to begin with!"

They began fighting, Hinata hesitant, but countering each jab with her own. She counted herself lucky that her father had been so insistent on her learning their family's preferred method of self-defense, an ancient form of martial arts known as the Gentle Fist.

He took advantage of her reluctance to hurt him and managed to stab her with the blade, causing her to cry out in surprise.

He pulled the blade back, giving another sick smile. "See? You're too weak! You're so concerned that you're gonna hurt me, but you should be worried about yourself!"

"I don't want to fight you, Ushio," she pleaded, readying her stance again. "Please, just stop this! I don't want to hurt you!"

"Like you could land a hit," he jeered. "You're so busy fretting over that Naruto that I could easily overpower you."

She tensed a little, but shrugged it off with a terse, "Don't speak to me that way."

"Oh, wook at me, I'm a wittle giwl who's in wove wiff a wosew twoblemakew, uwu!" He mocked with a mean bark of laughter. "You're so absorbed in your stupid little crush that you've let it blind you! Naruto's so stupid, I don't know what you see in him other than his money!"

"Stop this!" She insisted, her hands clenching and unclenching. "Me go after him just for his money? I'm a Hyuuga! You don't know what you're talking about!"

"Oh, do I?" He cackled. "Naruto's such an idiot, he failed an entrance exam! To second-grade! How stupid do you have to be to fail a knowledge test at the age of eight? He's always going around crushing on other girls, and you still hold out for him? How stupid can you get?"

She forced herself to calm. She regulated her breathing, closing her eyes for a moment before opening them and staring him dead in the eye, her face completely blank. Her icy pearl eyes assessed him as his fist clenched around the knife handle.

He chose that moment to attack again, lunging toward her to tackle her to the ground. At the last moment, she side-stepped, and when he hit the ground with a grunt, she rose her leg and stomped down hard with the full force of her foot, directly onto his spine. She heard him scream in pain, and when he tried to get up, she did it again. And again. _And again_. One of his ribs made a cracking noise, and he wheezed.

"Geez, you're a bit slow on the uptake for someone so 'enlightened' about others, aren't you?" She mocked, yet with a reserved, cool tone. She leaned in, putting her full weight onto her leg, and said, "You may be smarter than Naruto, you may be quicker than Naruto, hell, you may even be stronger than Naruto, but you know what you're not?"

He merely wheezed in reply.

" _You will never be as loved as he is_," she hissed in his ear, the veins around her eyes bulging in emphasis. "Compared to him? You are _no one_ important. Just another red shirt whose only purpose is to be _beaten down_."

She leaned in and grabbed the knife from his hand, using it to stab through a bunched-up corner of his black-striped maroon polo shirt, pinning him to the ground loosely.

"It's a shame, really. At least Naruto will grow to be a far better man than you'll ever be." She breathed across his neck, her tone polite, but with a cold, threatening, angry undertone to it. "That is, _if you even grow to see it at all_."

Subdued, her fury may be, but it was also cold. Hinata Hyuuga was never a pleasant girl when you pushed her off the edge, and he'd all but shoved her off it in his haste to assert his dominance.

Another kid close to them saw this and shivered, his opponent sharing in his unease.

"Never make fun of Hinata's crush on Naruto," he murmured to the enemy with a haunted look. "Just _don't_."

"Agreed," the other boy nodded quickly, and after a moment of gawking at the normally-timid girl standing guard over the boy as Neji appeared through the trees, racing right for her in a way vaguely akin to the Shonen Jump manga protagonist, Gouruto, they went back to fighting.

"HINATA!" He shouted, his eyes wide in fury at the look of her would-be opponent.

"N-- Neji-niisan!" She yelped, her usual demeanor back in place once more. "Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

"Not the question you should be asking me right now!" He almost yelled back, gripping her shoulders as he looked her over. "Not a scratch?"

"I'm fine, don't worry about me." She gave him a sweet smile, one that made a shiver go down his spine. "I handled it."

"I--" he swallowed, letting go of her shoulders to spare a glance at the poor bastard groaning in pain under her legs. "I... I can see that..."

A shout rang through the air, and both cousins whirled around to see a younger girl fending off an older one with just a stick.

Hinata gave Neji a look and smiled -- dare he think it -- almost menacingly. "Let's go help her, shall we?"

His only choice of reply was to look on warily as she darted into the fray, pulling out the knife she had stolen from Ushio.

Ushio groaned, as if on cue, and for once, Neji shook his head in sympathy. "As I believe our peers often say... mood." He muttered, walking half-heartedly after her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uwu translated: "Oh, look at me, I'm a little girl who's in love with a troublemaker (uwu)!"
> 
> Also the Sharingan and Byakugan don't exist in this universe, but headcanon that the Hyuuga can make their eye veins bulge anyway ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯


	39. The Anticipated Reveal

_Meanwhile, with Kakashi..._

* * *

"It's simply not fair that Senju came into ownership with this camp," the man was saying as he paced about in front of Kakashi. "It's such a rich place, you see, and it belongs with its rightful owners - not with any horrible Senju."

"What are you talking about?" Kakashi demanded. "I don't even know you, hell, I doubt Tsunade does too, but her grandfather bought the camp fair and square! She just happens to be in the family business!"

The man whirled around, an angry aura about him. "You really think that, do you?"

"I do!" Kakashi countered, glaring at him. "Like I stated before, we don't even know you!"

"We'll see about that," the man hissed, before he threw back the hood. Raven-black hair greeted the gray-haired man's eyes as the kidnapper took off his mask.

A familiar face greeted him, one that he vaguely recognized, and he rose his eyebrows in confusion. "Aren't you... one of Fugaku's relatives?"

"Correct," he nodded. "I'm a relative of Madara's, the man and the family that should be in ownership of this island!"

"What, because of some stupid ownership war thirty years ago?" Kakashi angrily demanded. He tried to push forward, but his body didn't budge. "Is _that_ the only reason you're doing this? Because Madara lost the bidding war and took the police force instead?! _Is this all because of some stupid summer camp deal?_ "

The Uchiha glowered at him, stepped forward, and slapped him again. Harder this time.

"You're the one who doesn't know what he's talking about," he seethed. "It doesn't matter anyway. Once I have Senju, I'll either take the deed by force, or... well, let's just say, she won't be leaving this place on her feet."

Something snapped in Kakashi, and he lunged his body forward, but only budged from the rock by a few inches. He didn't stop trying, shouting, " _YOU'LL DO NO SUCH THING! YOU SHUT YOUR DAMNED MOUTH!_ "

"Or what?" The Uchiha chuckled. "You'll shut it for me?"

Kakashi snapped his mouth shut and glowered at the man.

"I grow tired of arguing with you about this," the nameless man faked a yawn as he walked away, putting his mask and hood back on. "Good luck getting off of that rock. Even if you do, I'll just kill you, so it doesn't matter anyway."

Kakashi watched him go, his chest heaving with angry breaths.

As soon as he was gone, he slumped against the rock, suddenly tired.

He tried to get his hands free, but like the man said, he couldn't move his arms, nor his legs. They dangled below him, dead to the world.

He sighed, looking around. He recognized a few of his colleagues, but they were still unconscious. The few counselors he saw with the stain on their cheeks were still slouched there, and he got a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach from it. _"Please,_ please _let them be alive,"_ he pleaded silently. _"Don't tell me he'd actually leave us here with a bunch of corpses!"_

He noticed that the man next to him was Sanji Fuyata, Cabin 12's counselor. He was just awakening, seemed like, and when they locked eyes the man smiled.

"They got you too, Hatake?" He asked in a rough voice. "Man, that hurts. I'm starting to feel like we don't have a chance in here."

"Do you know where we are?" Kakashi asked.

"As far as I know, and as far as I can see, we're in a cave," the man said matter-of-factly. "I don't know where, but I think we're pretty near the kids. Sometimes at night, it feels like I faintly hear calls for help."

He then sighed, glancing down at his feet for a second before looking over at Kakashi with exhausted eyes. "To be honest, I'm starting to give up hope of ever getting rescued. I mean look at us. We're tied tighter than a turkey on Thanksgiving, we don't really know where we are, and to top it off, some of us have been here for at least a week with limited water."

"Don't say that," Kakashi admonished with a shake of his head. "I have faith in my students. I know they're coming to help us."

"How can you be so sure?" Sanji questioned with a frown. "They're _kids_."

"Yeah, but what have we been teaching them all this time?" Kakashi asked. "This is a camp for kids that teaches them self-defense and survival skills. There's no doubt that they could hold their own with a little bit of luck."

"Luck. Right." Sanji snorted, his sandy-blond hair hanging in his face. "Like we had any luck when they took us."

"Wait. _They_?" Kakashi echoed.

"Yeah, of course." The man looked at him weirdly. "He has someone helping him. Never saw his face, but I saw his hair. He's got the same old-man look that you do, although he seems a bit shorter... and younger. It's strange."

A face flashed through his mind, one that he'd barely managed to notice before he'd been knocked out before. His eyes widened.

He should have known.

Kakashi gazed straight ahead with a frown, thinking about it. Of course there was never just one. But someone with silver hair like his? Who did he remember had that feature?

He honestly couldn't recall anyone else his age having his hair color, save for his deceased father. It seemed to be a family thing. Ironic.

Wait. _Family_...

He faintly remembered another branch of the family before his father died, and a very, very distant cousin of his. His distant cousin had been only been a toddler when Kakashi had come to the summer camp for the first time at age 11, when he'd first been assigned to Obito's and Rin's cabin with Minato as their teacher. As far as he knew, his distant cousin had grown up outside of Konoha, as the last time he'd seen the boy was at a mutual aunt's funeral several years prior, where he'd noticed the bespectacled youth standing in the corner.

 _Silver hair_...

He heard Sanji sigh heavily, and when he looked over he saw that the man had fallen asleep again.

 _"Sakura,"_ he thought, closing his own eyes. _"She's gone to Tsunade, and they're going to rescue us. I can't lose hope now. For the sake of my students, I must not lose hope."_


	40. Jiraiya Hops Into Battle!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> huehuehuehue, boy do I love SSB memes

Tsunade grit her teeth together as she took another swipe at her opponent, just narrowly missing his chest.

She ducked when he tried to stab her and did a sweeping kick at his legs, but when he jumped back his foot caught her ankle, sending her stumbling to the ground.

She snorted and spit out some blood, and grimaced. She'd gotten quite the blow to her nose earlier, and it had given her a bitch of a nosebleed.

"Give up yet?" The scarred man taunted, power-walking towards her.

"Not yet she won't!" A new voice exclaimed, and just as Tsunade's head snapped up in surprise she saw a long, spiky white ponytail swishing as a familiar man joined the fray.

"Jiraiya?" She questioned, grunting as she staggered to her feet. "What're you doing here?"

"Got a distress call, figured I'd come help you out!" He sent her a wink over his shoulder as he punched the guy square in the chin, causing him to fly backwards with a yell.

She let out a long exhale, grabbing the bat from her back pocket and jumping in, swinging at the foe as a distraction so that she could grab a knife from the holster on her hip. "Is that all?"

"Naruto filled me in," he exclaimed, ducking out of the way so she could slash through the foe's clothes with a knife. The man hissed in pain, grabbing at his chest. He'd have a nasty wound for a while. "Backup's still on their way. How are the rest holding?"

"They're managing," she wheezed as their enemy finally went down. Just to make sure he was out cold, she reared her arm back and decked him square in the cheek. His head slapped against the wall and he slumped over, something small and white clattering to the cave floor.

She winced. "Didn't mean to knock out a tooth. Whoops. Hope he has good dental."

"Doubt it," Jiraiya shrugged. "Crime never has good insurance. Anyways, where we goin'?"

She pointed her thumb at the split path. "In there. Sakura and the others should be on the other side."

She led him to the right while the others followed. It took them a couple of minutes, but at last they turned the corner and were greeted by sunshine.

"More baddies," she scoffed, readying her fists. "Sic 'em!"

Immediately, staff and children alike rushed from behind, picking fights with the henchmen stationed around.

Just as she was about to join them, she happened to glance over and barely dodged out of the way of a kunai knife whistling through the air towards her. She glared at its thrower when it embedded itself in the wall, a couple of blonde hairs attached to the blade.

"Kabuto," she remarked coldly at the silver-haired man, clenching her fists. "I should have known. I thought I smelled something oily and snakelike around here."

"Yes, yes, well," the young man chuckled, adjusting his glasses. "It wasn't that difficult to infiltrate your ranks, I assure you."

"So _you're_ the one who managed to take out Hatake!" Jiraiya exclaimed, raising his eyebrows. "Honestly, I'm not that surprised; you always were a smart kid, or so I've heard."

Kabuto merely smirked at them, dropping his cloak to reveal Kakashi's normal outfit, complete with his standard flak jacket. He pulled up the mask bunched around his neck briefly to show them the resemblance. "I daresay I pull off a rather convincing Hatake, don't you think?"

Tsunade didn't even want to compliment that. She threw a knife at him, to which he barely dodged out of the way of.

He clucked his tongue in disappointment. "Come now, Tsunade, I put all of this effort into my outfit, and you throw knives at me?"

"What are you even doing here?" She demanded. "I thought you were in hiding after that slimy teacher of yours got sent to prison."

"Ah yes, poor Orochimaru-sensei." He looked almost bored saying it, although his eyes were alight with indignation at the insult. "I can't just sit around while he's away, now can I? Especially not when I've been paid handsomely to fulfill what my master would've wanted anyway."

"He's still locked away, correct?" Jiraiya asked, looking quite troubled for a moment.

"Yes. Orochimaru is still in prison." Kabuto confirmed, walking towards them with one hand in his pants pocket. "Quite a shame, really, but at least now I can have my time in the spotlight. I have to admit, I'm impressed those brats of yours put up such a good fight. Too bad I had to leave evidence."

"The slash marks..." Jiraiya quietly remarked with a huff of a chuckle. "Tsunade trains her staff well."

Tsunade ignored the compliment. "Well if _he's_ still locked up, then who hired you?" She asked, slightly confused.

"That would be me." A smooth voice made her whirl around, only to see a cloaked man by the cave entrance.

"You've got to be _fucking_ kidding me," she groaned. "Just how many of you creeps do you have?"

"Enough to get a long overdue job done," the new foe simply replied, snapping his fingers.

Almost immediately, Kabuto sprang into action, taking advantage of Tsunade's distraction to try and get a hit in. Jiraiya managed to block the blow, but yelled in pain when he felt a pinching pain in his arm.

"No hard feelings, Jiraiya," Kabuto hissed as the man's arm dropped immediately, "but I've got a job to do."

Tsunade looked between the two of them, seething. "What was that?!"

"A numbing agent," Kabuto casually replied, pulling out a small used syringe. "Lovely little specimen, isn't it? Just seconds, and all feeling in your limbs disappears."

" _That's_ how you got them without alerting the whole camp," she suddenly realized in horror. She looked up at the cloaked man, who happened to only be just an inch taller. She backed up against the wall, reaching behind herself to grab another knife.

Jiraiya got up and kicked at the cloaked man, hitting him square in the back. He hit the rock wall with a grunt, but whirled around and reared his arm back, swinging sharply to the older man. Jiraiya dodged, but his arm threw off his balance a bit and he stumbled for a second.

He grit his teeth and grabbed a knife, slashing at the man's throat. Unluckily, he dodged and kneed the man in the stomach, causing him to fall to the ground hard, coughing and hacking.

"You're just no match for me this time," the masked man sighed, almost disappointed. "Shame. I thought you were better at this, y'know, considering this is supposed to be a self-defense camp."

"That's only half of what we teach." She said, glancing to the side for a moment at her staff before jumping away from the wall, sucker punching him in the side of the jaw.

He grunted, wobbling away for a moment, but he swung up his leg to catch her chest. She dodged and went for his neck, trying to jab with her fingers.

He easily caught her hand, gripping hard enough to make her grunt in pain.

"You're no match for me in your old age, Senju," he snarled into her ear. He brought up his leg and kneed her in the chest, making her choke.

"What do you want?" She asked weakly, blood dribbling from her nose again as he slammed her face into the wall. She let out a muffled scream as she felt a snap. It became harder to breathe through her nose, and she had to turn away to avoid the nauseating sight of bright red blood splattered on the wall, strings of viscous, red-tinged mucus clinging to her scuffed-up face.

He drew a knife and held it to her neck, holding her back against his chest.

"All I want is the deed," he said. "Just sign the camp away, and maybe I'll make sure some of your precious underlings make it out of here on their own two feet."

Anger surged through her and she struggled against him, trying to stomp on his feet with her heeled shoes.

"Don't you _dare_ threaten my staff!" She barked, throwing her head backwards to try and headbutt him.

He gripped her hair and yanked hard, causing her to scream again.

"I'm not playing games, Tsunade Senju!" He yelled in her ear. "Give me the money and no one gets hurt. It's only fair for retribution's sake, don't you agree?"

She glanced back at him over her shoulder with a seething glare.

" _Never,_ " she hissed. "I don't bow to terrorists, and I won't start now."


	41. A New Foe(?) Has Appeared... Challenger Approaching!

The last bit of rope suddenly snapped, and just as it did, the group of kids cheered.

"That's everyone!" Sakura announced, looking around. "So what's the plan? How do we get outta here?"

"Well, you saw the door before you got taken, correct?" Shikamaru asked. When she nodded, he smiled. "The bottom isn't secured by boards. We can just kick it out."

"Perfect," she said. Then she paused, hearing yelling from outside. "Wait, who's that?"

One of the skinnier kids got up on another's shoulders, and when they peered out of the only holes in the shack, they gasped. "It's Director Tsunade! They've come to rescue us!"

This time, the kids cheered louder, several clapping and chattering amongst themselves.

"Let's get to work on that door then!" Ino announced. "Find a weak spot and roundhouse kick that sucker harder than a drunk pervert after Happy Hour!"

While a couple of kids gave her weird looks for that way-too-specific example, some of the stronger kids went to the door, trying to find anywhere to kick.

One of them actually slammed their foot into a spot in the middle, but to her dismay, it didn't even budge.

"Aim lower," Shikamaru advised. "I highly doubt they secured the bottom of the door."

She took his advice and kicked the bottom hard, and to their shared delight it cracked.

"Hell yeah!" Sakura crowed, getting in on it with a hard sweep of her own. It cracked a little more. "Let's kick this fucker down!"

Unfortunately, even though the kids took turns kicking, it didn't crack much more than it already had.

One of the bulkier kids, a kid named Shinji, decided to try body-slamming it. After the initial shouts of 'do it do it do it!', he backed up to the opposite wall, and, kicking backwards on the floor like a bull kicking up dirt, he sprinted at it like a linebacker, slamming into the door with the full force of his shoulder.

The bottom of the door exploded open, wood going everywhere.

"Let's move!" Shikamaru commanded, herding everyone out.

As soon as everyone was out of the shack, Sakura rounded the corner and saw Tsunade with a knife up to her neck.

Her eyes went wide at the sight, spotting a bit of blood on the wall in front of her. She quickly put two and two together and clenched her fists. A couple of kids gasped.

"What the hell is going on out here?" One of the bigger kids demanded. He smacked his hand into his palm. "Let's get 'em!"

She turned to the group of campers behind her. "Here's the plan: on the count of three, we bum-rush them and take 'em down. Alright?"

They all nodded. The smaller kids got ready to run.

Ino took her hand and squeezed it for a moment, and they shared a smirk.

Sakura took out a broken-off branch that she'd grabbed from the ground and counted. "One..."

A few boys narrowed their eyes in concentration.

"... two..."

Some girls cracked their knuckles before bending over in a sprinter's stance.

...

" _THREE!_ "

With thunderous war shrieks, the twenty or so kids ran at the fighting, causing them to whirl around in surprise.

"LET'S GET IT ON!" A few boys roared with glee as they descended upon a skinnier man.

Some kids jumped at the conscious enemies, others began kicking and punching Kabuto, who was stunned for a second as he watched them pour out.

"H- how-?!" He sputtered before several angry girls descended upon him. One girl kicked him in the back of the knees, causing him to go down. One by one they began kicking him and stomping on his back and face, shouting at him the whole time.

"This is for seeing me in my underwear!" One younger girl shrieked, kicking him in the nose. His glasses went skittering across the ground, where a boy stomped on them, shattering them.

Ino and Sakura jumped at the cloaked man, who had resorted to letting go of Tsunade to defend himself. Ino latched onto his arm, shoving the fabric up and chomping down hard on his wrist.

He screamed in pain, dropping the knife he was holding. Sai swooped in and grabbed it, holding it with a random handkerchief he pulled out of his pants pocket.

Sakura managed to catch Tsunade against the wall when she slumped over. She ignored Ino's shrill screeching at the masked man about 'how dare you hurt my friends' and 'you have a lot of nerve daring to hurt Miss Tsunade' and asked her, "Are you okay, Auntie?"

Tsunade tried to smile at her, although the blood in her mouth stained her teeth a little pink. "I could be better," she admitted with a short laugh. She paused to snort and spit to the side, groaning. "I think he dislocated my nose."

"Help is coming, don't worry." She took out a napkin from her back pocket from when she'd gotten kidnapped and dabbed daintily at her nose with it.

Just then, one of the adults stepped in and put his full weight on the man, grabbing some rope from the kids to tie his hands behind his back.

"You're hereby detained under the order of... well, me!" He laughed. "Now let's see who you are underneath that mask."

"Ooh, is this a Scooby-Doo moment?!" Sakura exclaimed, turning to look. "I've gotta see this!"

Jiraiya flipped back the hood and ripped off the mask, revealing a pretty, pale face, and black hair that reached his shoulders. He was glaring at the white-haired man pretty fiercely, and his eyes glinted red in the light.

"Hey, he looks kinda like Sasuke-kun!" One of the girls exclaimed.

Ino paused in her tirade and frowned. "Hey, yeah, he does!"

Tsunade grunted, getting to her feet. She extended a hand to Jiraiya and helped him up by his good arm. The two of them leaned against each other as the adults hauled the conscious henchmen away.

"Thank you for helping us, kids," she gratefully said, giving them a smile.

Sai stepped forward and handed her the knife, giving her a sweet smile. "The would-be murder weapon," he said cheerfully.

She took it with a bit of a concerned look to Ino, who just shrugged in a 'what-can-you-do' fashion.

Tsunade noticed a bit of blood on the knife's edge - her blood. She had to look away before she started to panic, instead handing it to Jiraiya.

At that moment, Gai burst through the cave, his laughter booming.

"Help has arrived!" He announced as two young adults rushed out after him.

Jiraiya's eyes widened when he saw two familiar faces. "Obito! Rin! How long has it been?"

"Far too long, Gramps," Obito chuckled as he gave the man a side-hug. He looked around at the unconscious bodies on the ground and groaned. "Aw man, didja have to clean up the party before we got here? I was actually looking forward to a good ol'-fashioned mudslinging!"

"For your mother's sake, you should be glad you missed it," Rin, the pretty brunette at his side, retorted. She looked at Jiraiya with a worried grin. "Good to see you're still standing, Jiraiya."

"Excuse me, but I don't believe we've met before." Tsunade interjected, looking between them warily. "You are...?"

"Oh, sorry!" Obito chuckled, holding out a hand. "I'm Obito, and this is Rin. We're Kakashi's old buddies."

"We were here during Minato-sensei's time as director," Rin added, shaking her hand next. "It looks like you're keeping peace around here! Not much has changed in fifteen years."

"Speaking of not changing, where's the staff at?" Obito asked, looking at Sakura. "You've been here before, right? You're that girl that Naruto talked about? Could ya show us?"

"Course I can." She said, giving him a brisk nod. "My name's Sakura."

"Lead the way, Sakura." Rin smiled sweetly at her and elbowed Obito, who yelped in surprise.

"I've been meaning to ask, how's the medical life treating you?" He asked as Sakura led them into the cave. "You ready to come back home yet?"

"It's going great!" Rin beamed. "I don't think I'm ready to come back yet. I still have so much to do and so many people to help, you know? It's not my time yet."

"Well when you do decide to show your face around here again, lemme know so I can book a special Ichiraku visit for the five of us!" Jiraiya laughed. He turned to Tsunade, wiggling his eyebrows at her. "Or should I make that six?"

She groaned, but gave him a playful shove. "Don't count your chickens before they hatch, old man. I'll have to watch my schedule."

As they walked, Rin went ahead with Sakura and began talking with her.

"So, Sakura, how have you been enjoying camp?" She asked.

"It's okay, I guess." She shrugged loosely. "It was better before people started getting kidnapped, to be honest."

At this, Rin began laughing heartily. The conversation behind them lulled for a few moments, but when she pulled herself together, they kept talking.

"I guess this beats out a lot of experiences!" She agreed, holding out her hand. "I'm Rin Nohara. I was your teacher's friend when we were here."

Then it clicked. Sakura brightened up and shook her hand. "Oh, I remember you! Kakashi has mentioned you! It's cool to meet you in person finally."

"I hope he's had good things to say!" Rin giggled nervously, her cheeks heating up.

"Don't worry, he hasn't said a bad thing about you." She gave the older woman a grin. "So you work in the medical field?"

Thankful that she changed the subject, Rin nodded. "Yes! I'm one of the head physicians over in Kusa. Are you interested in going into the medical field someday?"

"Are you kidding?" Sakura's eyebrows rose in disbelief. "I've been wanting to be a doctor ever since I was nine!"

"That's quite the decision to make at your age!" The brunette replied, surprised. "I didn't even know I wanted to be a doctor until I was eleven."

Sakura realized that they were coming to the end, and she pointed to the right. "The only other place they could be is through there. Karin mentioned seeing a couple of people talking in there, so they must be held there."

Obito nodded. "Makes sense. They didn't really seem that bright."

As they headed down the hall, Sakura grew more and more nervous.

 _"What if I'm wrong?"_ She thought desperately, glancing up at Obito and Rin's worried faces. _"What if Kakashi-sensei and the others just disappeared? What if they got to them first?"_

* * *

After a couple of minutes of silent, tense walking, they reached a corner. They turned to the right, walked for a bit, turned left, and came into a big circular room with stalagmites all around. Staff members were tied to them, some of them slumped over, others awake and talking quietly.

Rin gasped when she saw Kakashi. "Kakashi! Thank Kami, you're alive!"

His head whipped around quickly, eyes wide when she ran to him. "Rin?! You're here? But- but how?"

"I gave her a call," Obito announced, strolling over with a terse grin. "How're ya doing, Kakashi? Too stubborn to stay down as always, I see."

He chuckled weakly as Rin ripped through the ropes with a knife from her pocket. As his arms were released, he crumpled to the ground and into her arms.

She checked him over in concern, calling over her shoulder, "Obito, Sakura, do me a solid and free everyone else!"

"On it!" Obito agreed, gesturing to the girl. "You have a knife on you?"

"I picked one up outside," she replied, pulling out the kunai knife.

"Ah, how much I missed seeing those dorky things," he chuckled as they went to the stalagmites.

They both worked quickly, cutting the ropes. They helped each counselor to the ground, but when they got to the ones with the bloody rocks Obito paused and frowned.

He held his fingers to their horribly bruised necks, waiting. After a few moments, he grit his teeth in anger. He clenched his fist and punched the rock, not even flinching when his knuckles began to throb painfully.

"Dammit!" He hissed. " _Dammit_!"

"What's wrong?" Sakura asked. As she looked up at them, though, her heart sank. "No. No, they can't be."

"Long dead," he confirmed, falling to his knees in anguish. "Possibly from strangulation. See those rope marks?"

She looked them over and found them, nodding in acknowledgement.

"What's wrong over there?" Rin asked, walking over.

"Two dead," Obito responded, looking up at her with a guilty frown. "Possible cause is strangulation."

Her face dropped as she inspected them.

After a few moments, she stepped back with a heavy sigh. "You may be right."

Sakura watched the man as he leaned into Rin's soothing hand on his shoulder. She could see a lot of Naruto in his face, especially as he looked up at her with those heartbroken coal-black eyes. She could tell that he cared - probably a bit too much. Hell, even his face seemed like what an adult Naruto would grow up to look like.

She shivered, looking back at the dead counselor. _"I wish Naruto and Sasuke were here."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kick in the damn door, Shinji.


	42. A Happy Reunion

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto cheered as she walked in, Obito and Rin in tow. "Hey, you two made it!"

"Are you hurt?" Sasuke asked, frowning as he looked her over. His frown deepened when he saw some scratches and a few scrapes on her arms and face.

"I'm fine. Just got drugged!" She tried to joke, but when he didn't start laughing she just sighed. "Seriously, I'm alive."

"You worried Naruto to death, idiot," he huffed, pulling her in for a tight hug. "Don't you ever do that again."

She smiled into his hair, squeezing him tightly for a second. "I worried him to death, or you?" She joked again.

His hands clenched and his face began to burn a little. He pulled away like her touch offended him, instead looking away with a glare.

"Ha, sorry, sorry." She chuckled, placing a hand on his good one. "That was kind of insensitive."

"Tsundere as always, Sasu-cakes!" Obito laughed, coming up to ruffle his hair. "How's life treating you? Your brother leave the business yet?"

When Sasuke grumbled about him messing up his hair, the man merely grinned.

"Kakashi's resting next door, Sasuke, Naruto," Shizune said as she walked in. She smiled amusedly at the scene and gestured to the door. "I think you've both healed enough to get out of bed. What do you say? Wanna visit him while he's awake?"

"Hell yeah!" Naruto whooped, having the decency to wait until she checked him over before jumping out of bed. "Let's go! I need to give him a piece of my mind for scaring us so bad!"

"Don't stress him out, Naruto!" Sakura scolded with a frown. "We only just got him back!"

"Oh, nah, he's fine." Obito disagreed with a bark of laughter. "He's as formidable as a cockroach! He's been through worse, trust me. This is a cakewalk."

Rin looked a bit uncertain, helping Sasuke slip out of bed. "I don't know... should we really be visiting so soon?"

"It's been a few hours, Rin," Obito whined. "Please? We won't stay long."

"Oh, fine," she sighed, but gave him a good-natured smile. "It'll be good for the kids."

Sasuke tried to flex his arm. When he found that he could move his fingers again, he smirked to himself.

Sakura stayed back with him while the others filed out. "You sure you're gonna be okay?"

"I'm fine," he insisted as she hooked an arm around his. He didn't let go, but his other hand twitched, instead fidgeting with his clinic robe (thankfully, one that covered his backside). "You should be more worried about yourself."

"Like Obito said, this is a cakewalk." She replied, smiling to herself as she felt his fingers hesitantly lace with hers. He seemed to be checking them for any cuts, and when he did brush over one and she winced, he gave her an apologetic grimace and pulled back until she grabbed his hand again.

When they walked into the hospital room, Rin was holding Kakashi's wrapped hand and sitting by his bed, and Obito was exclaiming in surprise at something.

Kakashi's eyes lit up when Sakura and Sasuke walked in, cracking a smile under the mask. "And that makes six! How are you holding up, Sasuke?"

"I could be worse," the boy shrugged. "I'm just glad I can feel my left arm again."

"Is that so?" Kakashi chuckled, his chest rumbling with his voice.

Sakura sighed, relieved. Their Kakashi was back to stay.

"Hey, hey, let's take a group photo of you guys!" Obito suddenly pulled out his phone with a mischievous grin. "Think of it as a little souvenir to say, 'Hey, you survived!'"

"Sounds festive," Sasuke said blandly as he and Sakura went to Kakashi's bedside.

"C'mon, this'll be fun!" Obito rolled his eyes, grinning goofily. "Squeeze in a bit more, Naruto! You're out of frame!"

The blond obliged, leaning in so that his and Kakashi's heads were leaning against one another.

"Everyone say, Ninja Camp!" Obito directed.

"Ninja Camp!" Naruto and Sakura exclaimed. Kakashi and Sasuke said it too, but quieter. Obito snapped the photo and looked at it for a moment before chuckling to himself.

"That's one for the books." He pocketed his phone. "I'll send it to you later, Kakashi."

"So what do we do now?" Naruto asked as they moved away from the bed. "Isn't Granny gonna suspend all classes for the rest of the week?"

"Yeah, she is," Sakura confirmed with a nod. "But she also said that the cabins that didn't get their special activity will still get to have one. So what are we thinking?"

"Didn't you say you wanted to go tubing?" Kakashi asked, eye crinkling in an invisible smile.

"Oh yeah, that's right!" She remembered excitedly. "Can we?"

"With whoever you want to invite." He replied, leaning back into the pillow. "The only rule I have is that you can only pick two or three people tops."

"Awesome!" She and Naruto shared a high-five, while Sasuke simply stood there with a tiny smile. "This is gonna be so fun!"

"I think I'll invite Ino and Neji," Sakura hummed. "Since she's my best friend, she deserves to go. And Neji needs some fun in his life for once."

"Karin and Hinata should totally come!" Naruto agreed. "It's been too long since I've been able to hang out with her!"

They both turned to Sasuke.

He fumbled a bit, surprised. It took him a few moments to think, but he finally relented, "I guess I'll pick Sai and Suigetsu."

"You mean your emo twin?" Naruto laughed, raising his eyebrows. "And Jaws Jr?"

"Shut it, idiot," he hissed back, turning to walk away. "At least Suigetsu is marginally more easy to be around than you."

"Wha- hey!" Naruto cried indignantly, racing after him. "You take that back, you jerk!"

Sakura sighed heavily, rubbing her glabella. She gave a weary smile to her teacher. "I'm gonna follow them."

"Someone has to keep an eye on them to make sure they don't go around causing trouble," he replied as she leaned in to hug him.

"It's good to have you back, Sensei," she said. She turned to Obito and Rin and bowed a bit. "It was nice to meet you. I'll see you later?"

"Of course!" Obito agreed with a thumbs-up. "We're not planning on going anywhere for a while."

Rin patted her head with an added, "We'll definitely catch up with you later. And thank you. For saving our friend."

The pinkette brightened at this, said 'you're welcome', and turned and strode out of the room.

Rin and Obito watched her go, and when the door shut, they turned to Kakashi with matching eager grins.

"You know I hate it when you do that," he groaned.

"Well, spill!" Obito nudged him with his elbow. "How on earth did Tsunade set you up with our mini-mes?"

"Sakura is just the cutest thing," Rin fawned with a smile. "And Naruto is so energetic. And Sasuke is _just_ like you!"

"Either Tsunade has a sick sense of humor, or the past is coming back to bite me in the ass," he replied with a chuckle. "But what about you, Rin? Why'd you come back?"

"Obito was the one to call me," she admitted, giving the man a glance. "He had a really bad feeling about the camp, and so we decided to come check it out."

"Guess we made the right call in the end, eh?" Obito rubbed the back of his neck. "Minato was over the moon that Rin was back. Now that we've singlehandedly saved your ass, how about we go out for a team dinner again? Like old times?"

"We had help, you know," Rin reminded with a halfhearted roll of her eyes. She smiled at the two. "But dinner sounds lovely, doesn't it?"

"It does." Kakashi nodded slowly. "I'll have to see. I'm still technically supposed to stay here for another week to help clean up and prepare for field trips in the fall, but I'll look at my schedule. You're not staying for long, are you?"

Her happy expression fell a bit, and she sighed. "No, I'm technically on leave until the end of June."

"Then we'll stick around to help you!" Obito declared. "I'm sure ol' Granny Tsunade won't mind an extra helping hand or two! And then when you're cleared, we can all go out together, just like we used to!"

"That would be nice," Kakashi admitted softly. "I'd like that."

Rin squeezed his hand gently. "I'll give Minato a call in the morning."

She paused for a few moments, thinking about something. Finally, she nodded, and declared, "And for goodness' sake, you need to tell me all about those adorable students of yours! I've only known Sakura for a few hours, and yet if anything happened to my future adopted daughter I would kill everyone and then myself!"

Both men burst out into laughter in unison, Kakashi guffawing so hard his chest began to hurt.

"You'd have to clear it with Tsunade first!" Obito crowed, leaning onto Kakashi for support as he started to wheeze.

"I'm glad you like my student so much," Kakashi wiped a tear from his eye, chuckling, "but I don't know if her parents would allow you to take her."


	43. What's Betta 'n This? Guys Bein' Doods (and Kids Bein' Friends)

The next few days went by quickly. It was a hectic time for both staff members and campers, as they scrambled to get back to some semblance of normalcy in the camp in the midst of the rescues.

As Tsunade had decreed, each cabin was to spend the rest of the week doing fun activities. The day after everyone was rescued, she awarded each cabin with their completion certificates and took back their weapons, congratulating everyone on a job well done. The kids were allowed to keep their headbands if they wanted to. Some gave theirs back, but most of the kids kept them.

Sakura beamed with pride as she held her certificate. She took a selfie with Ino with both of them holding the papers (and with their headbands on). She sent her the photo (as Karin had tracked her down to give her phone back the night before) immediately, and it became her new lock screen photo.

They spent the majority of their time with their friend group, which had grown since the first day nearly two weeks before. Karin, Neji, and Sai joined them for good, much to their delight.

Hinata mustered up the courage to ask Naruto for his number to keep in touch, and he was all too happy to oblige, declaring next that they should all make a group chat to keep in touch over the summer. Each person chipped in with a phone number, even Neji, surprisingly. The group chat was aptly named "Summer Camp Peeps!"

That first day of fun was spent tubing. They each invited two people to go with them and Iruka, one of the instructors, loaded up the boat and took them around the lake. Each camper had a blast. Hinata actually burst out laughing when Neji began screaming because Naruto called to Iruka to take the boat faster. Every time they hit a bump, the only thing you could hear above the boat was a shriek and Hinata and Naruto's cackling in unison.

Much to the Uchiha's slight jealousy, Sakura spent a lot of time with Hinata and Neji. Even though she assured him that he was a cool guy, he still looked a bit mopey when she walked with the boy. (Damn family politics.)

"Damn, Sakura, you bring all the boys to the yard!" Ino cackled after a trip around the lake (in which Neji grabbed Sakura's arm to keep himself from flying off the tube). "You have a type or something?"

"Says the one that only likes boys that resemble Sasuke!" The pinkette retorted, giggling. "Don't think I don't see the resemblance between him and Sai!"

Ino blushed pink, stuttering angrily. "H- he doesn't count! It doesn't work like that!"

"Hmph. I'm only here because I was invited." Neji folded his arms. Then, as a hesitant afterthought (and with embarrassed, blushing cheeks), "... and to make up some time with my cousin."

Hinata just beamed at that, resting her head on his shoulder. "I'm glad."

* * *

On the second day of fun, Temari's cabin invited Team 7 to go with them on a shopping trip to town. Sakura was ecstatic, especially since she'd be spending more time with the older girl. Sasuke and Naruto were a bit wary about hanging around Kankuro and Gaara, but once Temari insisted (read: gave a thinly-veiled threat) to them that they would behave, they relaxed a little.

Temari only said that she owed them for saving her teacher when asked for a reason. Her brothers agreed. Gaara seemed especially grateful to Sakura for what she'd done, and tagged along with her for a while during the trip.

This, of course, creeped out Sasuke, who nearly got into a fight with the redhead because of how much he conversed with his cabinmate.

Kankuro and Temari saw the tension in the air, and quickly said that the boys would fare better going around the town in twos, allowing the girls to shop together at their leisure. Thankfully, both boys begrudgingly agreed, and Naruto was just happy to share an interest in griping about how much of a killjoy their cabinmates were with Kankuro.

As Sasuke and Gaara trailed the girls from a distance, Gaara struck up a conversation.

"I haven't... felt kindness from many people since I came here," he admitted, eyes flickering to Sasuke. His face was unreadable, and the black ring around his eyes (not to mention the distinct lack of anything resembling eyebrows) wasn't helping either. "But I feel like I owe her. And I suppose I owe you too, for all that you've done."

"We really didn't do much," Sasuke snorted. "We just lay in bed poisoned while she had to do all the dirty work."

"You explored with her," came Gaara's quiet answer. "For even that, I have to thank you for rescuing Sensei."

Sasuke paused in his spot, giving the boy a sympathetic look for a second. He looked perpetually exhausted, if the dark circles around his eyes were any indication. The boy looked confused, until Sasuke gave him a brisk nod.

"We only did what had to be done," he replied. "If we hadn't done something, someone else would have taken our place. Her place."

The redhead gave a quiet chuckle. Then he held out his hand. "I'm going to attend Konoha Middle this year. You?"

"So am I." Sasuke shook his hand firmly. "I suppose I'll see you around."

"Yes, you will." Gaara hesitated for a moment, but then offered, "If you need a favor done, just come to me or my siblings. Consider it an eye for an eye."

...

An hour later, when they were heading back to the car, Gaara leaned in. "Oh, I forgot to mention earlier. Congratulations on your relationship. I wish you two well."

Sasuke abruptly choked on his iced coffee, coughing so hard his eyes watered.

Gaara stayed with him, thumping him on the back with his hand with an impassive stare.

Finally, when Sasuke's coughing fit subsided, he croaked, "It's- _it's not like that_!"

* * *

On the third day, Tsunade gathered everyone at the firepit for announcements.

"Good morning, Camp Shinobi!" She greeted everyone warmly. "Before you ask, don't worry, I'm not giving any bad news this time."

"Actually, all is well! We're currently in the process of planning a short memorial for the deceased staff members. It will take place tomorrow at lunch, so if you wish to attend, then just be here by one o'clock."

She paused. People began to murmur, and she let them for a few moments before holding up her hand.

"On that note," she continued, "I'm excited to announce that we're making a honorary plaque to hang in the main hall. Cabin 7, would you please stand up?"

As soon as the three kids stood from their seats, their peers broke into applause and even more cheered loudly. At least one girl screeched (because what social gathering doesn't have that one girl who screams while everyone's cheering?) for Sasuke. Sakura blushed in embarrassment, Naruto looked happy for the praise, and Sasuke didn't do much else but stare straight ahead. They sat down after a few moments, and Sakura let out a breath as Kakashi gently squeezed her shoulder.

"For your bravery considering these recent events, We're dedicating said special plaque to you." Tsunade smiled brightly and gestured to the audience. "And as a thank-you to all of you, the names of every staff member and camper involved will be included underneath. A round of applause for everyone who helped!"

Everyone began clapping at that. The campers began excitedly chattering about it, and it took a few people shushing loudly for Tsunade to start talking again.

"As a special treat for you all, the police force are proud to announce that every one of you will get three sticks of dango for lunch today!" She found Sasuke in the crowd and gave him a wink. "If you see Detective Uchiha or any of his coworkers, make sure you give them a thank-you!"

Sasuke slumped at this, grumbling about his brother 'sticking his nose' into camp. Naruto chuckled and said it wouldn't be so bad if Itachi visited, and Sasuke sulked even more. After a bit of prodding, he reluctantly muttered quietly that he had missed Itachi and that he was glad to see him after 'all the shit that went down'.

Sakura was ecstatic, bouncing in her seat. She nudged Sasuke and whispered, "I'm gonna meet your brother! This is so cool!"

(Later on, at lunch, Sakura did in fact meet Itachi. Sasuke watched, slightly mortified, from a distance as his brother chatted with her about him. At the end of the encounter when he finally dragged her away, she had learned not only his childhood nickname of "The Tomato Bandit" (an embarrassing incident involving Sasuke being sky-high on painkillers), but also the fact that he still slept with his stuffed dinosaur. He was mollified only by Sakura's sympathetic addition of her sleeping with her favorite stuffed bear too... but just a little.)

* * *

On the second-to-last day, Cabins 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 got together to exchange social media and any missing phone numbers. It was an emotional affair filled with much crying and hugs. Each one promised to seek each other out during the next year of school.

Surprisingly, Obito and Rin also showed up. Rin offered to take Cabin 7 for an outing before school began, theirs and Kakashi's treat.

Naruto was all for it, making a bet with Obito that he could eat a bowl of ramen faster than him. Obito, never one to back down from such a ridiculous challenge, accepted, exclaiming loudly that "You're on, shortstack!" Naruto obviously countered this with a "Bring it on, old man!"

"Who're you calling old man?! I'm only twenty-six!" Obito shouted back. "Bakashi, back me up here!"

"No no, he's right," the gray-haired man smiled mischievously. "You are an old man."

Obito sputtered indignantly as Naruto shared a high-five with his teacher.

"Who're you callin' old man, gray-hairs?!" Obito shouted, clenching his fist. "I oughta show you who's the old man here...!"

Both Sakura and Rin watched this with fond exasperation. Sakura made sure to hug the woman tight and shyly thank her for bonding with her.

"I'm really thankful that you two were here," she admitted, blushing pinker than her hair when Rin awed and hugged her again.

"You're so _cute_!" The brunette squealed. She looked up at Kakashi, who watched the whole exchange with a smile. "Kakashi, are you _sure_ I can't keep her?"

"She's not a puppy, Rin!" Obito laughed boisterously.

Kakashi simply chuckled, shaking his head. "Rin, please calm down. You don't want people to think you're a kidnapper."

The brunette puffed out her cheeks in defiance, patting Sakura's head. "Sakura, you don't mind if I keep you, do you?"

Sakura blinked. "Um... I'll have to ask my parents first."

" _SEE_?"


	44. It's Quiet Uptown... er, Upstream

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sad that this one isn't gonna end up coming out on Valentine's day, but eh, it is what it is. Enjoy!

On the very last night before they had to leave, Sakura went out to an observation deck behind the cabin overlooking the field below. She leaned against the railing, sighing in content as she watched the stars twinkling overhead.

She closed her eyes, letting the breeze gently caress her face.

She opened them again when she heard someone approaching, and when she turned to look she smiled warmly at Sasuke.

"Hey," she greeted as he stood next to her. "Finally get tired of Naruto's rambling?"

He groaned in reply, causing her to giggle. "Sometimes I swear someone needs to Flex Tape his mouth together."

"Aw, but that wouldn't be quite as much fun, now would it?" She teased, gently hip-bumping him.

He merely huffed a laugh.

The two of them stood there for several minutes, enjoying each other's company in the moonlight. Said moon was suspended silently above them, shining and full.

After a few minutes of thinking, Sasuke broke the silence. "You know, if you'd have told me about everything that would happen in the past two weeks, I'd have thought you were crazy."

"Yeah," she agreed with a sigh. "It's been almost too crazy. I honestly can't remember the last time we all slept in the same cabin as a team."

He shook his head.

"Even though it was scary," she admitted, biting her bottom lip for a second before continuing, "I guess I can't deny it was fun."

"Can't argue with that." he chuckled. "For the first time in a while, I actually feel like I've actually been able to step out of Itachi's shadow and make my own friends."

She turned to see him looking peaceful, a hint of a smile curling his lips as he watched the water. He turned his head to gaze at her, his eyes softening.

Her heart did a flip-flop at his gentle face, and her cheeks burned.

"W- well," she stuttered, "did you manage to have fun in Cabin 7? Even though you got stuck with a loudmouth and a hothead?"

He smiled in amusement. "I'd have to say that I did, yes. Honestly, if it wasn't for Naruto, I don't think we would've made it out."

"No, we wouldn't," she agreed with a giggle. "All I can think of is when he carried you all the way back to camp. He seriously has a chance in the Olympics with lungs like that!"

Both of them laughed at the image of Naruto running in bright orange getup, screaming "Y'KNOW?!" as the other runners looked on in shock.

After a moment when their laughter died down, Sasuke managed to catch a glimpse of a shooting star. He pointed it out. "Hey, look. What are the odds?"

"Awesome!" She beamed. "Let's make a wish!"

Both of them stood staring at the sky, trying to think.

_"I... I wish that Sasuke would accept my feelings,"_ Sakura finally thought.

_"I wish for more chances to get to know Sakura and Naruto,"_ Sasuke thought, letting out a slow exhale through his nose.

...

She peeked over at him to see him looking lost in thought.

Just when she worked up her nerve to break the silence, he looked over at her with a soft, innocent smile. It was easily the most breathtaking thing she'd ever seen. It took her a few more moments to calm her heart and work up the nerve again.

Finally, she asked, "You... wouldn't mind hanging out more when we get home, would you?"

"Of course not." He answered quickly. He blushed pink, rubbing the back of his neck. "I- I mean, if you want to," he coughed.

She leaned in closer. "I'd like that," she whispered, almost reverently.

He mirrored her movement and stepped closer. He seemed to hesitate, but he slowly tangled their hands together as they watched the stars.

...

"This is... really nice," he confessed after a while of awkward silence.

"Hm?" She asked, cocking her head in confusion.

"This. Friendship." He coughed into his hand. "It's been a while since I've been able to be friends with a... with a girl."

"Because every single one falls in love with you the minute they see you," she teased.

"Well yes, but actually no," he replied. "I mean, every single girl our age has a crush on me; I'm not stupid enough to miss that. But... I don't want someone who's just gonna be infatuated with me while I'm still struggling to sort out my emotions. Just talking about this is... taxing, to say the least, for me."

"I get it," she nodded slowly. "Not the 'in love' thing, but I get the loneliness. Before I met you two, I didn't have very many friends that I could see on a regular basis. The only ones I had were Tenten, Ino, and Lee."

"Guess that's just one more thing we all have in common," he mused thoughtfully, casting his eyes downward. "We're all just lonely."

...

"Hey hey, lovebirds," their teacher teased, appearing from the bushes. He startled them into jumping away, both stuttering excuses.

"We were starting to miss you." He continued, silencing what they had to say.

Naruto gazed at them almost jealously for a second, but he seemed to shake it off and grinned at Sasuke.

"Anyways, I've got the s'mores ready, so if you wanna come back to camp now." Kakashi stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"Ooh, great!" Sakura lit up at the thought. But then she paused, thinking. Then, she asked, "Do you... think you could give us a minute?"

"Whatever you need," their teacher winked at her, gesturing back to camp. "C'mon, Naruto."

"More s'mores for me if you don't hurry!" The blond called over his shoulder with a grin.

Sakura shook her head as they left. Once she was satisfied that they were gone, she turned to Sasuke, who was gazing at her curiously.

"What do you still need to say?" He asked.

"I..." she began to lose her nerve, but she steeled her resolve and clenched her hands together. Marching towards him, she gently pulled him close and pressed a kiss to his forehead.

When she pulled away, she managed a squeak of "I love you, Sasuke. I really... really do love you."

With that, and her face going a flaming red, she whirled around to run off. But before she could, Sasuke grabbed her hand, pulling her back around.

"Do... do you really mean that?" He asked, eyes wide. Then they narrowed. "Are you just crushing on me?"

"No!" She shook her head vigorously. "I may have questionable taste in men, but I would never lead you on like that."

He just stared at her, his expression softening again. "Ignoring the 'taste in men' comment. So...?"

"Sasuke, believe me when I say it." She caught his other hand, looking hard into his eyes. "I truly, deeply, love you. Even if it took all this crazy shit happening for me to realize it, I've fallen in love with you."

This time his face began to burn, and he turned away for a moment out of embarrassment at the confession.

Her heart dropped a little, and she sighed. "I- I'm sorry if that was too forward, I-"

Then he surprised her. He reached up and gently pressed his index and middle finger to her forehead in a poke.

The move surprised her, but when she got over it, he confessed, "I... I haven't loved very many people in my life before. Of course I love my mother... and maybe my brother... and I guess my father."

"Do you..." she swallowed hard, breathless as she leaned in. "Do you... love me?"

He leaned in too, whispering almost reverently, "I think... I'm starting to figure it out."

He gently pressed his lips to her cheek for a split-second, and just as quickly as he started it, it was over, and he was stuttering, "C- come on, we should go before Naruto eats all the marshmallows."

Sakura pressed her fingertips gently to the spot he'd kissed for a moment. Then she giggled, taking his hand. "Yeah. Kami forbid Naruto gets a sugar high right before bed again!"

Sasuke groaned melodramatically. "Please, please don't give him any ideas. Do you know just how hard it is to get him to go to sleep on a _regular_ night? I really don't want his mom killing me because I had to take drastic measures."

She laughed louder, elbowing him in the side. "If anything, I'd definitely cover for you while you made a run for it!"

The two began walking back to their cabin, the breeze rustling about them and through the trees. Above them, two branches were intertwined in a rough outline of a heart.


	45. Home At Last

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Valentine's Day, y'all. Enjoy the last chapter!

The rest of the night was spent with laughter, stories, and s'mores. The cabin grew closer than they'd ever been with the knowledge that the next morning would separate them all for a while.

They talked late into the night, and when at last the fire was reduced to glowing embers and the graham crackers and chocolate were gone, they doused the pit with water and crept into their beds.

The next morning came quickly, and it wasn't long before Kakashi was knocking on Sakura's door.

She looked up to see him peeking in with a smile under his ever-present mask.

"Good morning," he greeted. "Sasuke and I made omelets and rice, if you're hungry."

Sakura's stomach chose that moment to growl, and both of them laughed.

"Starving, actually," she replied, flipping back her covers. "I'll be there in a minute."

He nodded and shut the door behind himself, allowing her to get dressed.

She pulled on a pair of comfy navy sweatpants and her favorite gray hoodie with 01 and her name in white on the back.

She brushed out her hair and put it half-up with a ponytail. Satisfied, she left her room and headed to the kitchen, where they were waiting.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto greeted with a grin.

"Hey, you guys. Looks good." She sat down between Sasuke and Naruto and yawned into her sleeve. "Man, I'm still really tired."

"We did stay up later than I'd have liked," Kakashi noted. "Well, go on and eat. I need to make a quick call."

They nodded, muttered an 'itadakimasu' and began eating.

The first bite that hit Sakura's tongue honestly punched out the contender for the best omelet she'd ever had. Her eyes widened and she turned to Sasuke after she'd swallowed.

"Sasuke, these are really good." She stabbed another bit of it with her fork and inspected it. "What's your secret?"

He simply shrugged, looking a little proud of her compliment (but hiding it with a straight face). "My mother taught me how. It's her secret to tell, not mine."

Both Sakura and Naruto groaned at this.

"But Sasukeeee," Naruto begged, "you have to tell us! These are better than the ones my mom makes!"

"Yeah, they're even better than Ishikawa's!" She chimed in. When Sasuke gave her a surprised look, she added, "I've only been there twice, but their food was really good."

Sasuke just chuckled. "My parents are coming to pick me up this afternoon. You can ask her then."

"All right!" Naruto cried. "Gramps is the one taking me home, so I know he'll be a while."

"Still got that undying crush on Tsunade, huh?" The pinkette commented with a giggle. "When are they gonna just kiss already?"

"Not until they both grow some balls," the Uchiha sighed. "I don't see either of them manning up and confessing any time soon without outside help."

...

Sakura slowly looked up at Naruto.

Naruto slowly looked up at Sakura.

A silent conversation seemed to be going on between them for a few seconds before they both grinned mischievously.

Sasuke noticed this and stopped eating his rice for a moment. "I don't like that look. What are you two planning?"

"Oh, nothing," Naruto whistled innocently.

"Definitely nothing," Sakura added with a syrupy smile.

Kakashi took this moment to come back in, pausing at the couch.

"Whatever you two are planning, you should look more inconspicuous," he commented with a chuckle, patting both of them on the head. "If you put on any more of a front, people would start to see your halos."

"Wha-ha-ha-haaat?" Naruto laughed nervously, taking another big bite of omelet. "Nonsense, nonsense! Just, uh, just eat!"

"Yeah!" Sakura agreed with a shit-eating grin. "Waste of a perfect breakfast if you spend it accusing us of shenanigans!"

Once breakfast was over, Naruto came over to Sakura and flopped beside her on the couch.

"You were totally thinking the same thing that I did, didn't you?" He asked.

"Oh most definitely," she scoffed, playfully nudging him. "Who do you take me for?"

"So what's the plan?" He glanced around for both Kakashi and Sasuke. "When do we try it?"

"We start by begging them to go to dinner with us at a nice restaurant," she whispered. "Say, for Valentine's Day?"

"I like it," he nodded in agreement. "We'll get them cards, obviously signed by one another to get them to go."

"You know we can totally hear you, right?" Sasuke droned as he casually walked into the living room, sitting beside Sakura. Kakashi walked in and sat on the end nonchalantly, putting his book away.

The kids stared in surprise. "We were totally whispering!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Stage-whispering," Kakashi said, tapping his ear. "Thanks to many, many years of dealing with Obito, I can hear when people are plotting something."

"So are you in or not?" Sakura challenged.

"Oh, we're totally in." Both of them spoke in unison, much to their surprise.

"I've been watching those two dance around each other ever since I was your age," Kakashi sighed. "It's about time they made a move."

"My mother and Naruto's mother have been engaged in a bet for nearly twenty years, or so she says." Sasuke added, folding his arms. "Mother bets that they'll be the ones to come out with it, and Mrs. Uzumaki bets that it'll take other people pushing them together to finally realize it."

"You're betting against _Aunt Mikoto_?" Naruto gawked. "She'd totally kill you if she loses! She never loses!"

"Not if both of them are right," the boy replied as an evil smile grew across his face. "What if they're in some kind of secret relationship already, and it'll only take a few people pushing them to come out with it? Trust me, I'm not planning to end Mom's winning streak yet. I'm saving _that_ one for Itachi and Izumi."

"Ooh, I like the way you think." Sakura agreed, rubbing her hands together with a matching smile of her own.

"Oh yeah!" Naruto grinned. "I know Mom's been hedging her bets on him finally realizing around graduation!"

"Amateur," Sasuke scoffed, folding his arms. "Mom's been saying for years that he'll eventually realize at homecoming this year. I think Izumi is cheer captain this year."

"Ooh, that does sound pretty plausible..." Naruto whistled. "Damn, your mom is unbeatable."

"I... have absolutely no idea what you're talking about," Sakura said slowly.

Kakashi just shook his head. "Best you don't get on the opposing side. There's a reason Mikoto's nickname in the gambling circles used to be Mirror-Eye Mirai *****. That woman must have some kind of divine intuition."

"Speaking of opposing sides, the Hyuugas." Naruto changed the subject with a cheesy grin. "What about Hinata's family outing to Nakasen Lake this year? You going?"

"Obviously," The Uchiha huffed. "I'm not just gonna be rude if she asks me."

"Hinata's family gets together?" Sakura wondered aloud. "Huh. I guess that figures."

:"Neji doesn't really hate Hinata as much as he wants you to believe." The blond shrugged, smiling brightly. "He just hates her dad. It's a really weird thing, honestly. I guess something happened in the past that caused Hinata's dad to let Neji's dad die? And ever since, he's kinda treated Neji and his mom like crap because they're of a lower status in the family. It's kinda weird. Kinda like the Uchihas, but like, the Uchihas are the diet version? I guess?"

"Don't even compare our families together," Sasuke snapped with a glare. "We aren't comparable at all."

"You sure about that?" Kakashi drawled, raising an eyebrow. "Outdated clan dynamics, first son becomes clan head, younger son goes off into a lower branch, arrogant attitude, need for power, seriously protective of family techniques, tendency to monologue about how life isn't fair?"

Sasuke opened his mouth to retort. Then his eyes widened a fraction. He shut his mouth, staring at the floor for a few seconds before looking up, whispering in grim realization, "Holy shit."

"ANYWAY!" Naruto interjected, pointing at Sakura, "Hinata wanted me to tell you! You're invited too!"

Sakura blinked. "Huh?"

"Idiot, why didn't you tell her when Hinata actually visited?" Sasuke muttered, still too out of it to fully commit to the friendly rivalry/best friendship.

"Well, because-- because--! I was busy earlier!" Naruto insisted, blushing. "Anyway! Hinata visited last night while you were both at the lookout point, and she invited us to her family's annual trip to Nakasen lake! Please, pretty please say you'll go!"

"It's very fun," Sasuke chimed in, shrugging loosely. "They always make a point to go on hikes up the mountain nearby."

"Sounds fun," she agreed with a nod. "I'll think about it."

* * *

In the early afternoon, everyone's things were packed and the cabins were empty. Every camper was out in the lower field with their bags, chatting excitedly amongst each other about this and that.

The friend group met near the shore and sat on the benches, talking together. They wanted to say goodbye to the camp in some way. Tenten had found a stump behind a tree that draped across the ground, so each girl went over to it and they took turns carving their initials and the date into the side.

Hinata glanced over at Sakura. "Has Naruto-kun told you about the camping trip?"

"Yeah, he mentioned it." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "As long as it won't cost much, my parents will probably say yes."

"Oh, no no no!" Hinata looked almost offended at that. "Why would I charge you? You're my friend! I- I mean, if you think we're friends."

"Relax, Hina," Sakura chuckled, throwing an arm around her shoulders. "Of course we're friends! I'd love to go."

"I'll probably be going too, but only because Lee and Neji are... good friends? I guess?" Tenten looked heavily confused at the thought.

"Oho, and perhaps it's not because you totally have a crush on the bishounen?" Ino teased, nudging her with her elbow.

Tenten's face went red, and she glared at the blonde. "It's not like that! As if I'd ever like that- that-"

"Careful what you say, his cousin's right here," Temari laughed.

"Oh, none taken. I admit, sometimes Neji-nii can be a bit... much to handle." Hinata shook her head with a giggle. "Actually, I think you're the girl he likes most out of everyone here. You should be flattered."

Tenten's face went a darker color, and everyone began laughing.

After her laughing fit subsided, Ino checked her phone. "Oh shoot! It's almost time for the boat to get here."

"We'd better go back to our stuff then," Karin advised.

* * *

As soon as the boat got there, Iruka shouted for two cabins to go at a time. He said that they'd be going in reverse order, and so it was quite a while until the group left.

Karin stuck around with them until it was time for her to go.

As soon as her group was notified that they'd be next, she hugged Sakura tightly.

"Thank you so much, for everything." She said. "I'm really sorry that I was such a bitch when we first met."

"No, it's fine." Sakura shook her head. "I'm fairly sure half of the girls didn't stop hating me until Sasuke was hurt, so."

"Still, it was rude to judge you just because you were with Sasuke," Karin insisted, looking away for a moment in embarrassment. "I'm glad you made friends with my cousin, at least. I know he can be pretty annoying sometimes."

"Understatement, but he's really fun to be with most of the time." Sakura chuckled. "Honestly, if it wasn't for him and his enthusiasm for everything, I doubt I would've had as much fun as I did."

"Honestly? Mood." Both Ino and Karin nodded in unison.

"Keep in touch?" Sakura asked, eyes glittering with amusement. "Even though it took someone stealing your phone for you to get my number?"

The redhead laughed. "Of course. Even though it took someone stealing my phone for me to get your number."

"Wait a minute," Ino interjected with a contemplative frown. "Why didn't you just ask one of the others for it? Why didn't you ask Lee?"

"W-- well I--!" Karin sputtered, face going red as her hair. "I-- I just--!"

Her head whipped around when Iruka called out, "Cabin 13! Cabin 14! Time to go!"

As soon as Karin's cabin was called, she gave Ino a quick hug and raced away quickly, calling "See you at school!"

Both of them waved, watching the kids scramble to go.

"So, you not heading home for a while?" Ino asked.

"Nah, Aunt Tsunade's taking me home." The pinkette shook her head. "I'll be here for a few hours."

"Wow. Sucks."

"Yeah, it's not that fun staying back." Sakura shrugged. "At least I'll be able to meet Sasuke's parents, I guess."

"Ah yes, your future in-laws," Ino teased.

" _Not yet_ ," Sakura said quickly, blushing in embarrassment. "We aren't there yet."

"So he does like you?" The blonde asked.

"I guess so, yeah." The pinkette nodded slowly. "He said he's starting to figure it out, and that we could hopefully give things a try if and when I come with them to the Hyuugas'. So I've got that going for me."

"You're really lucky, Sakura." Her friend said softly, smiling at her. "Every time I see him stare at you, he looks at you like you're everything."

"That's? Really sweet?" Sakura's face grew hotter, and she coughed into her fist. "How often have you, uh, seen him staring at me?"

"Every time he knows you're not looking," she replied nonchalantly, enjoying the girl's sheepish fidgeting. "And that's a lot."

"We're only- well, I'm twelve, he's eleven," Sakura stuttered. "A lot can change in a few months."

"Not when he specifically wanted you to come to Hinata's little vacation thing," Ino pointed out. "Hinata invited all three of you, sure, but he definitely wanted you to come more than _Naruto_ did. And Naruto? That boy is the literal human embodiment of a golden retriever."

She stuck her hands in her hoodie pockets, going quiet.

The blonde sighed, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I've gotta get going. Just... promise me you'll think about it?"

"I can't stop thinking about it," the girl mumbled in reply.

As soon as Ino's cabin was called, she smiled. She gave the girl a quick hug and turned to walk away.

"Remember it!" She called over her shoulder.

Sakura waved goodbye, sticking her hand back in her pocket as Sasuke walked up.

"Hey," he greeted.

"Hey." She smiled at him. "Your parents here?"

"Yeah," he nodded, looking vaguely annoyed. "And they brought my brother."

"Fun," she chuckled.

They watched as the others boarded the boat, leaving the field sparse. Only a couple of kids remained near the hill, probably relatives of the staff. The rest of the eager kids were near the docks, bouncing in their spots and chattering animatedly about this and that.

He frowned, looking down at his shoes.

"Hey," he called softly, making her turn.

"Yeah?" She asked.

He looked up at her before taking her hand. He hesitated, but then pressed his lips carefully against her knuckles a split-second before letting go, looking away, embarrassed.

Her eyes were wide as she stared at him in disbelief.

"I, uh, I think I understand more about-- well, this," he coughed, his face burning behind his hand. "I'll see you later? At Hinata's?"

She blinked for a moment. Then a smile grew across her face until she was beaming at him.

"Yeah, I will." She replied, throwing her arms around him in a hug.

He froze for a second before hugging back.

"I'll miss you," she muttered.

"Yeah, me too," he replied, just as quietly.

They remained that way for a few seconds more until they heard a woman's voice cooing behind them. When they both let go, they turned to see Sasuke's parents walking up.

"How adorable!" Mikoto, Sasuke's mother, crooned as she walked up to them. "Did you finally get interested in girls, Sasu-chan?"

"Mom," he groaned, looking away. His face was aflame.

"I'm just kidding!" She giggled, turning to see Sakura. "What's your name, sweetie?"

"Sakura Haruno," she replied as Mikoto stuck her hand out to shake. She took the woman's nimble hand and shook firmly. "It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Uchiha."

"Oh please, call me Mikoto." She shook her head at the girl. "Mrs. Uchiha makes me feel so old!"

Sasuke's father nodded stiffly to her. "It's good to meet you, Sakura. Your father talks about you often."

"Oh, he does?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes." He looked uncomfortable for a moment, but then continued, "You have a bright future in sports and medicine."

She smiled a bit at that, nodding to him. "Thank you."

"Anyways, Sasu-chan, it's time to go." Mikoto picked up one of his heaviest bags, making Sakura's eyes go wide. The thing alone must've weighed at least fifty pounds!

"Okay, Mother," he replied as he slung his backpack around, tucking both arms through the straps. He looked shyly up at Sakura. "See you in a few?"

"Yeah." She nodded.

"Ah, Sasuke, this is where you've been." A taller boy with long black hair in a loose ponytail came walking up. He looked at the scene and smiled at the two. "Oh, I get it."

"Itachi," Sasuke hissed under his breath, gripping the straps of his backpack.

"Forgive me, it's not often that I see my little brother with girls." Itachi knelt beside Sakura and held out his hand. "Thank you for keeping him company. I'm Itachi."

"Sakura Haruno," she replied, timidly shaking his hand. "Thanks again for the dango."

"It was no problem," he chuckled, standing and patting her head. "Anything for helping us catch a known criminal."

Tsunade called Sakura's name from a ways away, causing her to briefly look over. She turned back to Sasuke's family and bowed at the waist. "Thank you for the introduction, but I have to go."

"Oh, of course! We don't want to keep you." Mikoto chirped. "We hope to see you soon, dear. Don't be shy about asking to come over! You're always welcome. Any friend of my sons is a friend of mine!"

* * *

After Sasuke's family left, Tsunade found Sakura to take her home, as her parents were home early from the interviews with Uchiha Corp. She was over the moon all the way, talking animatedly about how excited she was to see her friends again. Tsunade listened with an amused smile, now and then interjecting with her own comments.

As soon as they reached Sakura's street, Tsunade gave her a big hug, promising to have her over as soon as she could. She helped Sakura unload her bags and drove off, leaving her ambling up her front driveway.

As soon as she opened the front door and called out, "I'm home!", her mother popped out with a big grin.

"Sakura, did you hear the great news?" She asked, coming out of the kitchen to help her with her bags. "Your father got the job! We'll have a larger income now!"

"Awesome!" Sakura exclaimed. "Oh, Mom, I had _such_ a great time! You were so right about it."

"I'm glad to hear it," she replied with a giggle. As soon as they got up to her room, they put her bags in her room and headed back down. "You hungry? I got you some of your favorite muffins from the bakery."

"Boy am I!" The pinkette said eagerly, sitting down at the kitchen table as her mother brought her a plate of delicious-looking muffins and a glass of juice.

She sat down with her while she ate, her green eyes sparkling. "Tell me all about it! I want to know all about your trip."

Sakura waited until she'd swallowed her bite of muffin before wincing. "It's a bit of a long story..."

"Oh, I've got all day." Mebuki leaned in, resting her chin on her hands.

"Well," Sakura replied, taking a sip of juice while she tried to think of a good start to her tale, "It all started when I got assigned to my cabin..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Mirror-Eye Mirai: A pun on 'Sharingan' (Mirror Wheel Eye) and 'Mirai' (Future).
> 
> Aaaaaaaand it's done! Thank you all for reading the revised version of the story! I don't know when I'll post something new for Naruto again, but when Riot Act is over I definitely want to get to work doing a revised version of that and posting it here.
> 
> Please tell me what you thought! See you later!


End file.
